81-year old arrested for possession of crack
Polk County Enterprise - November 2007

LIVINGSTON — An 81-year-old Livingston man was arrested Nov. 3 after officers were sent to the 1500 block of North Houston for a suspicious vehicle reported in the area.

Joe Ed Fitzgerald was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after the officer responding to the call saw the occupants of the vehicle apparently smoking crack cocaine.

Livingston Police Department spokesman Lt. Matt Parish said officers can distinguish crack cocaine users from cigarette smokers do to the constantly burning flame that is visible from quite a distance. A burning cigarette just has the burning ember of tobacco.

As Officer Kurt Riley approached the driver appeared to be very nervous, police reports show. The driver was identified as Fitzgerald and two women passengers were also in the vehicle, but face no charges, according to Parish.

When the driver exited the vehicle, Riley saw him slip something between the driver’s seat and the center console. He also grabbed a paper cup from the center console and threw it in the bed of the truck.

Riley saw a crack pipe fall from the cup when it was thrown and obtained a consent to search the vehicle, Parish said.

One rock of a substance that appeared to be crack cocaine weighing less than one gram was found in the vehicle and field tests indicated a positive result for the presence of cocaine.