June 05--A Kinston teenager who was allegedly caught dealing an ounce of marijuana out of a potato chip bag Sunday while he walked the city's streets remains locked up in the Lenoir County Jail Monday, charged with his third felony in two years.
Ricardo Tyrone Williams Jr., 18, appeared briefly in Lenoir County District Court Monday morning before a team of bailiffs escorted him back to his jail cell, where he awaits behind bars to either pay or have a relative post a $25,000 secured bond for his release.
Williams had Kinston attorney Kim Benton appointed to his case and was scheduled to return to district court June 25 for prosecutors to show there is probable cause for Williams' arrest Sunday on a single felony count of possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana.
The evidence against Williams is direct and simple and comes in 28 gram-sized bags.
It's an ounce of marijuana, an arrest report states, and according to Woody Spencer, spokesman for the Kinston Department of Public Safety, it was found in an unlikely place: a potato chip bag.
A public safety police officer patrolling the 1500 block of Old Snow Hill Road at around 6:45 p.m. on Sunday, saw Williams and -- having been familiar with the teen for selling drugs -- got out of his cruiser and asked to search him.
Williams obliged and a preliminary pat-down of Williams' body turned up no weapons or drugs, Spencer said. But after taking a closer look inside a potato chip bag Williams was holding, the officer found 28 individually packaged bags of what appeared to be marijuana.
All the drugs were seized, a report states.
Sunday's arrest marks the second time in four months and third time in two years Williams has been in trouble with the law.
Williams -- also charged last year with felony breaking and entering -- was arrested Feb. 16 outside the St. John's Village public housing complex for horse-playing with two friends in the middle of the road while carrying a stolen 9mm handgun in his pocket, according to warrants.
Police charged Williams on a felony charge of possession of a stolen firearm. The teen, whose home address was listed as Apartment 11C at St. John's Village, posted an $11,000 secured bond.
While out on bail, Williams stayed at unit 507-D at Richard Green Apartments, an arrest report states.
Officers with the Kinston Department of Public Safety first began to pursue Williams and two friends of his Feb. 16 while on foot patrol in the area of St. John's Village when they saw the trio "horse-playing" in the middle of the road, Spencer said.
When the three saw the officers, Spencer said they went into the breezeway of the public housing complex at 912 E. Highland Avenue and then attempted to go into an apartment when the patrolmen followed.
The officer asked for the three to step outside and while conducting a field interview, noticed Williams to be standing and behaving in a manner that led the officer to believe he was hiding a weapon on his body, Spencer said.
When Williams refused to be frisked, Spencer said he was detained. During a later search of Williams, officers found a 9mm Cobra handgun in his right front pocket. A background check of the firearm's serial number listed it as stolen, Spencer said.
Williams also was charged with a misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest in the incident.
The other two men were released, Spencer said.
Williams has no prior convictions, a search on the N.C. department of Public Safety's website shows.
Wesley Brown can be reached at 252-559-1075 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KinstonCrimeSpy.
Copyright 2012 - The Free Press, Kinston, N.C.
