Cliff Hargrave
02-15-2007, 08:18
The Orange Leader
ORANGE — If Donnis Downey’s aunt sends him a cake while he’s incarcerated for a drug charge, jailers will probably want to check it for a file.
Downey, 39, told Department of Public Safety Trooper Michael Johnson on Friday night he was on his way back to Oakdale, La., from Houston when Johnson pulled him over for expired tags on his Toyota 4-Runner near Mile Marker 885 on Interstate 10, just inside the Jefferson County line. Johnson was on duty through STEP, a federal program which pulls together officers from various agencies.
“He was way too nervous. He was trembling so bad I could see his shirt quivering,” Johnson said, explaining why he asked Downey’s consent to search his vehicle. Finding drugs during traffic stops has become almost a weekly occurrence on the stretch of interstate between Beaumont and Orange.
Johnson said he noticed two cakes in the floorboard of Downey’s vehicle. Johnson said when he asked Downey about the cakes, Downey told him his aunt in Houston had made them for him.
Johnson lifted the cakes up to look under them, and, finding nothing, he replaced the cakes and began searching the rest of the vehicle.
“Downey seemed to get comfortable and relax. You could tell by his body language he wasn’t as nervous,” Johnson said. “So, I began to wonder when it was he began to relax.”
Getting an idea, Johnson asked Downey if he could cut him a piece of cake. Downey obliged.
“He cut me out a big chunk of that cake,” Johnson said. “He actually cut the cake.”
Downey cut a little too big a piece for Johnson, who saw a baggie protruding.
After putting Downey in cuffs, Johnson discovered each cake contained a “Zip-Lock” bag with about a half-pound of cocaine in it. The total weight is 1.1 pounds which has a street value of about $9,500, Johnson said.
“I’ve been doing this for nine years, and this was a first; it was really bizarre,” Johnson said.
When asked about the cakes, Johnson replied one had chocolate icing, and the other a white icing.
“The cakes,” he said, “were left in the vehicle. It’s not illegal to have a cake in your car. We just brought the white stuff with us.”
The amount of cocaine confiscated leads to a charge of possession of a controlled substance greater than 400 grams. If convicted, Downey would get a minimum 15-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000, Johnson said.
Downey was booked into Jefferson County Jail and bonded out Saturday. He did not return phone calls made Tuesday afternoon.
ORANGE — If Donnis Downey’s aunt sends him a cake while he’s incarcerated for a drug charge, jailers will probably want to check it for a file.
Downey, 39, told Department of Public Safety Trooper Michael Johnson on Friday night he was on his way back to Oakdale, La., from Houston when Johnson pulled him over for expired tags on his Toyota 4-Runner near Mile Marker 885 on Interstate 10, just inside the Jefferson County line. Johnson was on duty through STEP, a federal program which pulls together officers from various agencies.
“He was way too nervous. He was trembling so bad I could see his shirt quivering,” Johnson said, explaining why he asked Downey’s consent to search his vehicle. Finding drugs during traffic stops has become almost a weekly occurrence on the stretch of interstate between Beaumont and Orange.
Johnson said he noticed two cakes in the floorboard of Downey’s vehicle. Johnson said when he asked Downey about the cakes, Downey told him his aunt in Houston had made them for him.
Johnson lifted the cakes up to look under them, and, finding nothing, he replaced the cakes and began searching the rest of the vehicle.
“Downey seemed to get comfortable and relax. You could tell by his body language he wasn’t as nervous,” Johnson said. “So, I began to wonder when it was he began to relax.”
Getting an idea, Johnson asked Downey if he could cut him a piece of cake. Downey obliged.
“He cut me out a big chunk of that cake,” Johnson said. “He actually cut the cake.”
Downey cut a little too big a piece for Johnson, who saw a baggie protruding.
After putting Downey in cuffs, Johnson discovered each cake contained a “Zip-Lock” bag with about a half-pound of cocaine in it. The total weight is 1.1 pounds which has a street value of about $9,500, Johnson said.
“I’ve been doing this for nine years, and this was a first; it was really bizarre,” Johnson said.
When asked about the cakes, Johnson replied one had chocolate icing, and the other a white icing.
“The cakes,” he said, “were left in the vehicle. It’s not illegal to have a cake in your car. We just brought the white stuff with us.”
The amount of cocaine confiscated leads to a charge of possession of a controlled substance greater than 400 grams. If convicted, Downey would get a minimum 15-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000, Johnson said.
Downey was booked into Jefferson County Jail and bonded out Saturday. He did not return phone calls made Tuesday afternoon.