32-year-old Lee Fitzgerald was charged with possession of meth, possession of heroin with intent, three counts of possession of cocaine with intent, three counts of drug paraphernalia, and tampering with evidence after being pulled over speeding and officers find his drugs hidden in his crotch.
On May 28th, Officer Mitchell was patrolling Interstate 240 West when an Audi passed the officer, traveling beyond the posted 55 Mile Per Hour speed limit. Mitchell proceeded to run the tags on the vehicle, revealing that they belonged to a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis. Mitchell requested backup and task force officers Bradley, Boyd, Crutcher, Elrod, and Mitchell conducted a traffic stop on the Audi.
While at the intersection of Prescott and Cherokee, the passenger of the vehicle, later identified as Lee Fitzgerald, proceeded to toss a black piece of plastic into a trash can prior to receiving orders to re-enter the car. Mitchell then met with the driver, Nicholas Christian, and quickly discovered a scale in the center console coated in a white, powdery substance.
Both Christian and Fitzgerald were apprehended while officers Bradley and Elrod recovered the black plastic tossed into the trash. A search of Fitzgerald was initiated, to which law enforcement retrieved $549 from Fitzgerald’s pants pocket and noticed “an unnatural bulge,” in Fitzgerald’s genital area. After noticing this, Fitzgerald reached inside of his pants and removed a cigarette package, throwing it away while handcuffed. Officers then found the thrown cigarette pack, discovering several bags of a powdery substance as well as a brown substance wrapped in paper inside the carton, per the affidavit.
The items were tagged by law enforcement and tested positive for cocaine. The estimated weight of the cocaine was approximately 17.5 grams. One of the bags from the cigarette package returned positive for methamphetamine, weighing about 0.6 grams. The aforementioned brown substance was confirmed to be heroin, with a total gram weight of 1.4. Also discovered in the Audi was a white bottle of an unidentified powder that tested as an unknown substance. Both Fitzgerald and Christian were taken into custody for their respective charges. The vehicle was towed to the city lot. It was later discovered that Christian’s license had been previously revoked.
Lee Fitzgerald was arrested and charged with possession of meth, possession of heroin with intent, three counts of possession of cocaine with intent, three counts of drug paraphernalia, and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $100,000.
