Police stop leads to crack cocaine trafficking charge

A Cape Girardeau man faces drug-trafficking charges after a traffic stop led officers to find 16 grams of crack cocaine on his person, police said.

The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Sunday charged Maurice Braxton, 57, with second-degree drug trafficking.

According to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Cape Girardeau police officer Joshua Potts, Braxton was riding in a vehicle with another person about 10 p.m.

Potts conducted a traffic stop near Independence Street and Kingshighway after identifying the vehicle’s license plates as belonging to a different vehicle, public information officer Sgt. Adam Glueck said Monday.

Braxton provided a false name and date of birth before correctly identifying himself, at which time officers found he had an outstanding warrant from Cape Girardeau County for probation violation, according to the statement.

Police found two plastic baggies in the lining of Braxton’s jacket, each containing about eight grams of an off-white, chunky substance that tested positive for cocaine, Potts wrote.

Braxton’s bond is set at $25,000.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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