Crime & Safety

Brothers Charged with Intent to Sell Crack

Police found 26 baggies filled with crack cocaine in glove box on Hess Street.

Two brothers were arrested for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine and another drug after Bethlehem police found 26 bags of the illicit drug in the glove box of the vehicle they were in on Thursday evening.

Police made contact with Jean Rodriguez-Ortiz, 20, of 435 Fullerton Ave., Whitehall Township, and Kevin J. Rodriguez-Ortiz, 18, of 637 N. 10th St., Allentown, as they were sitting inside a parked car on the 500 block of Hess Street.

According to the arrest warrant, the vehicle was parked at an angle, with the right rear out in the roadway creating a hazard.

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When the officer asked to see vehicle registration, one of the brothers opened the glove box, which provided police with a view of a plastic bag and baggies inside that appeared to be packages of crack. The bag also contained four pills, which were identified as hydrocodone, a prescription narcotic.

Both Rodriguez-Ortiz brothers were charged with two counts each of possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.

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