Two local men jailed for drug possession
Trinity Standard , April 2007

TRINITY – A routine traffic stop in Trinity last week ended with two local men in custody charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Eduardo Perez, 26, and Barabbas Baker, 24, both of Trinity, were arrested about 3 p.m. Friday by Officer Stephen Hodges near the intersection of Third Street and Trinlady Park Road.

Hodges said he was on patrol in the area when he spotted a car make a right turn onto Trinlady Park Road without signaling.

“I made contact with the drive to talk to him about it when I noticed he was very nervous about something,” Hodges said.

The officer said he asked the driver, identified as Perez, to step out of the vehicle and then asked a passenger, identified as Baker, to do the same.

“The passenger also seemed very nervous so I asked the driver if I could search the vehicle,” Hodges said.

When he was given permission, Hodges said he quickly discovered 11 small baggies of what appeared to be powdered cocaine and about 20 “rocks” of crack cocaine in the vehicle’s consol.

Estimated street value of the drugs was about $500.

“The baggies sell on the street for $20 each and there were four or five pretty good sized rocks of crack that would also sell for $20. There also were smaller $10 and $5 rocks,” he said.