Ansonia police say residents’ complaints of suspected drug activity on Wakelee Avenue led to the arrest Tuesday night of two men, one from Hartford who allegedly had 48 baggies of crack cocaine and another from Stratford who was charged with driving with a machete in his car.
Lt. Andrew Cota said Thursday afternoon that patrol officers and officers with the Police Department’s Anti-Crime Unit stopped two vehicles Tuesday about 10 p.m. after seeing what looked like a drug deal occur in a parking lot near Wakelee Avenue and Division Street.
“We saw two cars pull up next to teach other, appear to do a drug deal and go their separate ways,” Cota said Thursday afternoon.
The two men driving the cars were taken into custody after police found drugs in the vehicles.
Charged were Angel Sanabria, 29, of Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford, and Joseph Chatcavage, 41, of Shanley Street in Stratford.
During the motor vehicle stop of Sanabria, police found 30 grams of heroin, 48 baggies of crack cocaine, and an unspecified amount of marijuana, according to a press release issued by police Thursday.
Sanabria was charged with three counts each of possession of a controlled substance within 1,500 feet of a school and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school, two counts each of possession of narcotics and sale of narcotics, and single counts of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of drug paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of a school.
When officers stopped Chatcavage, they seized 2.4 grams of heroin, a prescription narcotic, and a machete, according to the police press release.
Chatcavage was charged with possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, and failure to keep a prescription narcotic in its original container.
Chatcavage was released after posting a $7,500 bond and is due at Superior Court in Derby May 21.
Sanabria posted a $100,000 bond and is also due at Superior Court in Derby May 21.
Cota said Tuesday’s arrests, as well as other recent investigations, were prompted by citizen complaints about suspected drug dealing activity.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls, of people pulling up in parking lots, stopping for only a minute or so and then disappearing,” Cota said. “We’ve been the addressing the areas as we’ve gotten complaints.”
