A malfunctioning taillight on a truck led to the arrests Tuesday night of a Pasadena man and a 16-year-old boy on drug charges, county police said yesterday.
Narcotics detectives conducting surveillance saw a man suspected of dealing crack cocaine driving a Ford truck east on East Shore Road about 8 p.m. When the officers noticed the left taillight was out, they radioed for a uniformed officer to stop the truck, authorities said.
An Eastern District patrolman stopped the truck at 207th Street and East Shore Road and searched it with the driver's permission. The officer reported that he found 54 bags in a McDonald's bag on the floor containing a substance that field-tested positive as crack cocaine. The street value of the crack cocaine was $2,700, police said.
Robert Helmick, 19, of the 700 block of 207th St. was charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The 16-year-old boy, who lives in Pasadena, was charged as a juvenile and released to his parents, police said.