Three nabbed with cocaine in traffic stop
Three men were arrested on September 24 after a State Trooper pulled over the Dodge Durango they were traveling in on Route 25 in Wareham and found 177 grams of cocaine in the vehicle.
The trooper stopped the vehicle for speeding and for having excessive tint on the windows, according to State Police.
Eric Brando, 39, of Mashpee, is charged with trafficking cocaine, operating under the influence, having obstructed/non-transparent windows, and speeding. Gunnar Cahoon, 41, of South Yarmouth, is charged with trafficking cocaine.
Brando was release on $1,000 bail following his arraignment in Wareham District Court Thursday, September 26, and Cahoon was released on $500 bail.
Jose Olivio-Rivera, 44, of Osterville, is charged with trafficking cocaine and is being held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail. According to police, his bail is higher because he has a drug case pending.
When the arresting officer approached the car, he noticed the smell of marijuana wafting from the car and saw the passenger in the backseat moving around, police said. He observed that Brando, who was driving the car, had "bloodshot and glassy" eyes.
The trooper instructed Brando to roll down a rear window, at which point he saw Olivio-Rivera hiding his hands in a sweatshirt on his lap, according to police. The trooper instructed him to get out of the car, and asked him why he had been moving around and hiding his hands.
Olivio-Rivera responded that he was cold, police said.
The trooper then asked Cahoon, who was in the passenger's seat, to exit the vehicle. According to police reports, Cahoon "appeared nervous, his hands visibly shaking."
Brando was asked to step out next and the trooper observed that he was unsteady on his feet, according to reports.
Brando told the trooper that he'd smoked a blunt (marijuana wrapped in tobacco leaf, generally from a hollowed out cigar) in Rhode Island before driving to Wareham, police said.
The officer determined that Brando had been driving under the influence.
Upon searching the car, the officer found two bags of cocaine totaling 177 grams and four bottles of chemicals used to cut — or dilute — cocaine, according to police. A further search by the Barnstable Sherriff's K9 units turned up a bag of marijuana.