Damaged Rental Car Leads Cops to Drugs
Two Racine men are facing charges after a Mount Pleasant police officer found a large amount of marijuana inside their rental car Wednesday morning.
Joseph C. Balderas, 19, and Conrad Cottingham, 29, were charged in Racine County Circuit Court Wednesday with one count of possession with intent to deliver THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. If convicted, they each face up to 3 ½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, a Mount Pleasant police officer was driving westbound on Highway 11 when he spotted a car coming southbound on Lathrop that inched toward a stoplight without stopping, then turned slowly onto westbound 11. The officer spotted fresh damage on the bumper and noticed the car was a rental out of Kenosha, so he pulled it over since rental cars aren’t normally allowed out with damage.
Cottingham was driving and wearing a heavy leather jacket, which the officer also found suspicious. The officer asked to see the rental agreement, so Balderas opened the glove box and the officer noticed a can of Natural Lite beer and a bottle of Seagram’s Gin inside.
Cottingham was ordered out of the car and while the officer was patting him down, he realized Cottingham smelled of marijuana and he had $1,100 in cash in his pocket. Officers then searched the car and discovered two large bags of marijuana on the passenger side, along with more bags in the glove box.
A total of 95 grams of marijuana were found in the car.
Balderas said all of the marijuana belonged to him and he had been at his cousin’s house on the north side when Cottingham picked him. He stopped short, however, of saying from where he got the drugs.
Cottingham failed field sobriety tests and was also charged with second offense operating while intoxicated.
Both men are currently being held in Racine County Jail on $4,000 bond. <
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What a comedy of errors with tragic consequences!
Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!!!
When you quit drinking alcohol and stop using drugs – lots of life’s problems disappear, and you can deal with the rest.
Tricky Dicky
08/29/2012 at 8:45 pm
Wow, that’s some good police work..
slinkeey
08/29/2012 at 11:28 pm
Wearing a leather jacket is not suspicious..mine as well free them!!!
lc262
08/30/2012 at 1:15 pm
Not even in the summer and not on a motorcycle?
slinkeey
08/30/2012 at 1:30 pm
He wears that jacket a lot. It’s his legit fav jacket soo
lc262
08/30/2012 at 1:49 pm
Good police work!!! Get these criminals in prison ASAP.
Proper profiling can work to the greater good of the community.
legal stranger
08/30/2012 at 6:49 pm
Prison my ass! People don’t even know the whole story!
lc262
08/30/2012 at 9:24 pm
Tell us the whole story then.
slinkeey
08/31/2012 at 6:31 am
Let me guess.
The police lied about his failure to stop at a stop light.
The police planted the drugs and alcohol in his vehicle.
The police lied about the sobriety tests.
slinkeey
08/31/2012 at 6:37 am
Don’t need the whole story, trash is trash. Again, good police work.
legal stranger
08/31/2012 at 4:46 pm
Does Joseph Balderas have a younger brother – Gregory Balderas?
“Suspect is found with a man holding her marijuana after she allegedly threatens to take her life in the same Mount Pleasant hotel where her boyfriend recently took his own life.”
http://mountpleasant.patch.com/articles/woman-faces-charges-after-hotel-suicide-threat
Tricky Dicky
08/31/2012 at 6:45 pm
I legit love racine (:
lc262
08/31/2012 at 6:51 pm