Broken Tail Light Spurs Traffic Stop, Crack Cocaine Arrest

WARWICK, RI — Officer Ali Jaafar was parked at Haxton’s Liquors  on Post Road when he saw a silver 2010 Chrysler Sebring with Florida plates and a broken third tail light pass him, prompt the officer to pull the car over, ultimately arresting the driver on a crack cocaine possession charge.

Jaafar stopped the Chrysler in the parking lot for Papa John’s and identified the driver as Victor Santos, 35, of 28 Harris Ave., Cranston. Santos told the officer he had been heading home to Providence after picking up a pizza at Papa John’s. When asked why he was driving to Papa John’s when there are many pizza restaurants in Providence, Santos said he simply likes Papa John’s pizza.

As they spoke, Jaafar could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the car, which Santos explained by telling him he had just smoked some marijuana. Jaafar asked Santos to step out of the car, and asked if there were anything illegal in the the vehicle. Santos told him there wasn’t anything illegal in the car, but when Jaafar mentioned cocaine, the driver glanced quickly at the car.

Jaafar placed Santos in his cruiser and searched the Chrysler, finding a paper clip attached to the air conditioning knob. Jaafar pulled on it, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, he found a bag of crack cocaine. The officer took another look at Santos as he stood near the car, noticing that his gut, which was large enough to cover his crotch, had a plastic bag hanging out from under the fold of his stomach. The bag also contained what Jaafar suspected was crack cocaine.

Jaafar arrested Santos and transported him to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive. The bags were tested and were determined to be crack cocaine, and Santos was charged with possession of crack cocaine, a felony.