East Haven police make narcotics bust during traffic stop

EAST HAVEN — A routine traffic stop led to the arrest of a Hamden man after East Haven police found narcotics packaged for sale in his vehicle on Monday.

Officer Dean Bibens, on patrol Sept. 23, clocked a black Acura speeding south on Laurel Street.

With Traffic Enforcement Officer Joe DiNatale, they observed the car fail to stop at the intersection with Bradley Street and eventually pull into a dead-end on Eldred Drive, where they conducted the stop.

The operator, Lebron Jimmy Stevenson, 19, of Warner Street, Hamden, had visible baggies of crack cocaine and fentanyl inside the car.

After Stevenson was detained, officers uncovered 72 bags of crack cocaine weighing 34 grams, 11 bags of cocaine totaling 18 grams, 180 bags of fentanyl weighing 61 grams, and $661 in cash.

Stevenson is charged with failure to obey a stop sign, improper use of a marker plate, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, and three counts of possession with intent to sell.

Released on a $10,000 bond, Stevenson is due in court Oct. 2 at the G.A. 23 courthouse on Elm Street in New Haven.