Taconic Suspect Hid Cocaine In Shoe, Until K9 Denver Got A Whiff: NYSP

CLINTON, NY — A traffic stop on the Taconic led to a drug stash just a "foot" away, according to state police.

On Tuesday, members of the Troop K Community Stabilization Unit (CSU) stopped a 1995 BMW 318TI traveling north on the Taconic State Parkway, in the town of Clinton.

During the stop, troopers interviewed the driver, identified as 35-year-old Joseph W. Richards, of Lake Luzerne and the passenger, 27-year-old Christopher L. Bracero Mendez, of Saratoga Springs.

An exterior sniff of the vehicle was conducted with assistance from a Dutchess County Drug Task Force officer and K-9 Denver, which resulted in a positive alert for the presence of illegal narcotics, according to police.

Troopers then searched the BMW and discovered a used crack pipe and a small baggie containing cocaine, police said. Additionally, Bracero Mendez was found to be in possession of 115 grams of cocaine concealed in his right shoe.

Richards was charged with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance, felony driving while ability impaired by drugs with two prior convictions within 10 years, and felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Bracero Mendez was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor use of drug paraphernalia.

Both Richards and Bracero Mendez were remanded to the Dutchess County Jail.