White Crystal in the Pipe

An East Hampton Village resident was high on crack cocaine when he was stopped at 10 a.m. Saturday on Toilsome Lane, according to village police. Ronald Allen King, 61, was pulled over when the 1997 Chevrolet he was driving came up as unregistered, according to a reader on the police car.



Mr. King denied the charges, and pleaded not guilty in East Hampton Town Justice Court the next morning.



According to police documents, the arresting officer asked Mr. King, “Why does the car smell like a burned narcotic?” Mr. King replied that the smell was not caused by anything he had done. He said someone else had been using the car the day before.



The officer had him take standard sobriety tests, which he reportedly failed. He was arrested on a charge of driving with ability impaired by drugs.



The car was searched. On the passenger seat, according to the report, was a pipe. “Is this metal pipe, with what looks to be crack cocaine, yours?” the officer asked. “No, never seen it,” was the answer. “But I will take full responsibility.”



A field test of the drug with a Duquenois-Levine 908 kit allegedly showed the partially burned white crystal in the pipe to be cocaine. Mr. King was additionally charged with possession of a controlled drug. Both charges are misdemeanors.



At village police headquarters on Cedar Street, he agreed to have blood drawn for a drug test. After spending almost 24 hours in a holding cell, Mr. King was brought to court to be arraigned.



“You have several past convictions,” Justice Steven Tekulsky noted, “including two or three felonies.” The most recent may have been in 2011, he said, expressing concern about the man’s record.



Mr. King, whose son was seated in the courtroom, is a lifetime resident of East Hampton. Justice Tekulsky said he was considering setting bail at $500, and asked the son if he would be able to post that amount. “I’ve got a couple of hundred bucks,” the son answered. Justice Tekulsky set bail at $250, which the son posted at police headquarters. The elder Mr. King is due back in court on March 12.



There were no arrests made by East Hampton Town or Village police on drunken-driving charges this past week. The same is true for the Sag Harbor Village department.