Two are charged for felony trafficking
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on June 29, 2016 1:46 PM
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A man was arrested Monday on cocaine trafficking charges after allegedly eating cocaine during a traffic stop on June 24.
Rinardo Quatrell Howell, 33, of 916 N. Beston Road, LaGrange, was arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and charged with three counts of felony maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for the purpose of a controlled substance, one count of felony trafficking in cocaine and two counts of felony conspiring to traffic in cocaine.
Howell was placed in the Wayne County Jail under a $110,000 secured bond.
These charges stem from a traffic stop earlier this month that resulted in the arrest of Howell's girlfriend, 26-year-old Laronda Leonard, who also lives at 916 N. Beston Road.
As law enforcement officers were watching the house where Howell and Ms. Leonard live on June 24, Howell left the residence and was then stopped for a traffic violation. During the stop, Howell ate what the officers' report said was an unknown amount of suspected cocaine and had to be taken to the hospital.
Before being taken for treatment, Howell called his girlfriend and told her to "get the stuff out of the house and leave."
Officers stopped Ms. Leonard as she fled the residence and found her in possession of 18 ounces of powder cocaine and two .45 caliber handguns.
Ms. Leonard was charged with one count of third level trafficking cocaine by possession, one count third level trafficking cocaine by transport, one count of conspiracy to traffick cocaine by transport and one count of conspiracy to traffick cocaine by possession.
She was placed in the Wayne County Jail under a $25,000 secured bond.
Maj. Tom Effler with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said he could not discuss what medical issues were caused by Howell's ingestion of the cocaine or what he was treated for at Wayne Memorial Hospital due to HIPAA regulations.
"We secured warrants on him for when he got out of the hospital," Effler said.