Westport PD Finds Suspected Crack Cocaine, Distribution Packaging on New Haven Man

After initiating a traffic stop on a vehicle with numerous violations at 3 a.m. Friday morning, a Westport police officer found suspected drugs and an open beer scattered about the vehicle.

Jeffrey Wright, 48, of 690 Howard Avenue, New Haven, was charged with possession of a controlled substance – narcotics, and drinking while operating a motor vehicle after being stopped for operating a vehicle with no front license plate and a severely cracked front windshield.

The officer immediately observed a Heineken beer bottle lying on the floor in front of the passenger seat, police said. The contents of the bottle were frothy and spilling out on to the floor of the vehicle.

The police report indicated the officer smelled alcohol on Wright’s breath and asked him to step out of the vehicle in order to speak with him. As Wright stood up from the driver's seat of the vehicle, the officer saw an orange glassine baggy containing a white rock substance lying on the center of the seat behind him, according to the police report. The officer immediately recognized this as common packaging for distribution of crack cocaine.

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“A search of the vehicle was conducted and several small clear glassine baggies were found,” the police report states. “These baggies and the cup holder itself contained a white powder residue, which was also suspected to be crack cocaine.”

Wright was taken into custody and transported to for processing. In addition to the criminal charges, he was also charged with several motor vehicle charges including, having a defective windshield, improper rear marker lamps, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension, operating or towing an unregistered vehicle and insurance coverage fails minimum requirements.

Wright's bond was set at $500. He was unable to post either bond and was transported to Norwalk Superior Court Friday morning for arraignment. 

In 2004 Wright was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension, failure to appear and a probation violation in Norwalk, according to the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch website. In 2006 he was sentenced to seven months in jail for failure to appear.

Bridgeport police charged Wright in June 2011 with evading responsibilities, illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension and following too closely. Norwalk police charged him in January 2012 with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under suspension and illegal operation of a motor vehicle without insurance, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch website. Both cases are pending in Norwalk Superior Court along with his current Westport file.