Police: Man dropped drugs, fled accident
LOWER POTTSGROVE » A man has been charged after police responded to an accident and found cocaine near one of the vehicles.
Andre Ziegler, 36, of Pottstown, has been charged after police say he fled the scene of an accident just after officers found cocaine on the ground near his vehicle.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, officers responded to a two-vehicle accident with no injuries at around 8:52 p.m. on March 4 at North Keim Street and
Buchert Road. When police arrived, they spoke with the operator of the first vehicle, who identified himself as Anthony Brown. He was later identified by police as Andre Ziegler.
Ziegler told police that the light at the intersection had been flashing but that he did not want to just go through the light. When he came to a stop, the car behind him struck his vehicle, he said. When asked for his license and registration, he could not locate them, according to police.
Officers then spoke with the operator of the second vehicle who stated the first vehicle had been stopped at the light but that he had put the car in reverse and backed into him.
While police were on the scene, officers located a bag of suspected crack cocaine behind the first vehicle. After police picked up the bag, the driver who had identified himself as Brown, closed the door of his car and fled the scene, heading south on North Keim Street at a high speed, according to court documents.
Police said a witness at the scene reported seeing Ziegler back into the car behind him and another witness stated they saw him drop the bag later found by officers, according to a criminal complaint.
The bag found by officers was confirmed to contain 33 individual bags of cocaine totaling 8.3 grams, police said.
Pottstown Police later located the vehicle in an alley behind the 400 block of North Evans Street and spoke with Ziegler who was taken into custody without incident, according to police.
Ziegler was charged with manufacture, delivery or possession with intent, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, intent to possess a controlled substance, false identification to law enforcement, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving, careless driving, driving with a suspended license, accident involving damage to an attended vehicle and disorderly conduct. He was arraigned on March 5 before District Judge Edward C. Kropp and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 15 again before Kropp. He was unable to post the set $25,000 cash bail and is being held at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.