SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 1, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) -- A man was arrested Thursday on suspected drug charges, Salt Lake City police said in a news release issued Saturday.
Officers arrested 59-year-old Darnell Cockle, who is accused of being involved in illegal drug distribution.
The investigation started at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday after police saw Cockle near 800 W. North Temple, where prior drug-related arrests have been made, the SLCPD public relations statement says.
Officers conducted a stop after seeing Cockle walking in the roadway illegally, the release says.
Cockle's arrest documents say he gave officers consent to search him, "and during this search, officers located one blue counterfeit oxycodone pill suspected of containing fentanyl, a plastic baggie containing unburnt marijuana plant, one burnt marijuana wrapped in rolling paper, and a small piece of field-tested positive crack cocaine. Darnell was apprehended and placed into a patrol vehicle."
Cockle was carrying a backpack when he was stopped by the police, and this was searched, his arrest document says. Other items found in his backpack or on his person were 12 blue counterfeit oxycodone pills suspected of containing fentanyl, a substance that field-tested positive for crack cocaine, a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, a scale designed to look like a car key fob, containers with burnt marijuana inside, and pipes with burn marks and burn residue inside, and $287 in cash.
"The crack cocaine and methamphetamine were packaged in a way that would make it easy to distribute," Cockle's probable cause statement says. "The arresting officer knows that both methamphetamine and crack cocaine are typically distributed by selling individual crack rocks or methamphetamine crystals, which is how the narcotics were packaged inside of the bags.
"Based on the totality of the evidence available, the large amount of cash, the scale, and Darnell's history, the arresting officer determined he was possessing the methamphetamine and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
"Darnell also admitted that he was bringing the narcotics to his girlfriend so he can distribute them to her as well."
Cockle was booked into jail for investigation of: