Arrests hit Hanover St. drug sales

A 2 1/2-month undercover drug sting has made a big dent in the "open-air market" for crack cocaine on South Hanover Street, Cape Girardeau police say.

An undercover officer on loan from the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department bought small amounts of crack on 47 occasions, said detective Bill Bohnert. So far, 12 people have been arrested on warrants stemming from the buys, including one of Cape Girardeau Central High School's top basketball players.

An additional four people have been arrested on warrants for selling drugs in charges related to the sting but not stemming directly from the buys on South Hanover Street.

Two suspects are still at large, police said.

The department focused on street dealers partially in response to neighborhood complaints, Bohnert said.

A longtime resident of the area applauded the police effort. South Hanover Street has become a lot quieter in recent months, said Elizabeth Seesing. "I really appreciate that."

The dealers were often visible from her bedroom window, she said. The drug sales made her cautious about allowing her two children to ride their bicycles, she said. They were always under supervision when they would ride in the neighborhood.

"I never really felt threatened or unsafe," Seesing said. "But I observed what was going on and I just had the attitude that I was not going to tolerate that in my neighborhood."

All of the suspects are charged under the same law, a class B felony with a possible sentence of five to 15 years in prison. Some of those arrested face only a single count of selling drugs, while others were charged with up to five times for separate drug sales.

Many of the sales were videotaped, police said. The undercover officer would drive into the area and often several dealers would rush the car to see who could win the sale, Sgt. Barry Hovis said.

"It was a race," Hovis said. "It was kind of depressing on my part to see some of the video on this."

The Central High School athlete, Anthony L. Hempstead, faces two drug charges. Seesing, a disciplinary officer at the school, said she knew Hempstead and considered him a quiet young man. She said she hopes Hempstead "just got caught up in it."

Most of the drug purchases involved about $20 worth of crack, Bohnert said. That is the most common amount sold by street dealers, he said.

South Hanover Street had become well-known as a place to buy crack in Cape Girardeau and attracted out-of-town buyers, Bohnert said.

The problem there grew after police dealt with drug sales on Good Hope Street several years ago, he said. Methamphetamine use also played a role in allowing the problem to grow.

"We have focused on meth and somewhat turned away from crack," Bohnert said. "Then the crack problem got out of hand."

The Bollinger County officer who made the buys was on loan through the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, Bohnert said. Cape Girardeau officers "can't do undercover work in Cape because everybody knows us," Bohnert said.

Two suspects with pending charges haven't been arrested yet, Hovis said. Officers were attempting to pull over Lorenzo Tate, 17, in late June after observing a drug sale when he made a U-turn and sped away, he said. After an ensuing crash, Tate was injured and taken to an area hospital.

Tate, who was not placed under arrest at the time, left the hospital quickly. "He was injured bad enough that we didn't keep a guard on him," Hovis said. "He came out of it and ran."

And Lavontay Johnson, 20, of Charleston, Mo., faces two additional charges along with the single count of selling drugs. After the undercover officer made a purchase on June 17, a uniformed officer was called to stop Johnson in order to make a positive identification. When ordered to stop, Johnson started to walk away and then ran when the officer tried to grab him, Hovis said.

When he was caught, Hovis said, a pat-down search recovered what appeared to be crack. Johnson squirmed free from the officer's hold and ran off again, this time eluding pursuers, Hovis said.

Johnson faces a class C felony for possession and a misdemeanor charge for fleeing.

Warrants stemming from the investigation have been served in batches of five to 10 at a time, Bohnert said, to keep from overloading courts. At first, as a few dealers were arrested, others would take their place.

"It was kind of a revolving door, but for the most part now it has quieted down there," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126