Informant to face drug charges after being found at police raid

A police informant responsible for a raid on an accused crack dealer admitted Tuesday that he was trying to buy from that dealer when officers stormed the house.

Corey Estes, 30, of Cape Girardeau testified in associate circuit court that he purchased $40 worth of crack cocaine from Frank Boyd II, 54, of 1227 College St., on April 19. The purchase was made with money provided by Cape Girardeau police detective Bill Bohnert, Estes said.

Estes said he suggested the buy from Boyd, who had sold to him on other occasions.

Based on testimony from Estes and Bohnert, associate circuit judge Gary A. Kamp ordered Boyd to stand trial on charges of possessing crack with intent to sell.

Officers raided Boyd's house on April 22. Estes testified that he was in a bedroom with Boyd and another woman, about to buy drugs when officers entered.

He had just paid Boyd $100 he owed for a previous drug purchase, Estes said. "I handed him the money for what I owed him and then they raided," he said.

Officers knew Estes was there, he testified, because Bohnert told him they had put a tracking device on his car.

Estes testified he had agreed to make the purchase for police to help him get a deal on forgery charges. Estes is facing three counts of forgery for checks taken from his stepmother's checkbook.

If exchange for his help, prosecutors will allow him to plead to a class A misdemeanor of stealing, allow him to be put on probation with and require him to get help for his drug problems.

Estes appeared in court in a Cape Girardeau County jail jumpsuit. He is facing new charges stemming from a domestic assault case, prosecutor Morley Swingle said.

Boyd is also being held at the jail.

In his testimony during the preliminary hearing, Bohnert said officers found about 6 grams of crack cocaine when they raided Boyd's home.

Officers hadn't intended to search the home so soon after Estes's drug purchase, he said, but a pile of belongings on the front lawn prompted the raid. Officers thought Boyd might be about to move. Instead, Bohnert testified, a recent rain had flooded the home's basement and the belongings on the lawn had been there.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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