By David W. MacDougall
The Post and Courier
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A man arrested Saturday on a drug trafficking charge told North Charleston police he had been laid off from his job and that he sold narcotics to provide for his family, according to a police incident report.
Court records show he was convicted of similar charges several years ago.
Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, an officer noticed a person moving around inside a car parked outside a building on Attaway Street.
The driver tried to leave, but the officer ordered him to stop, the report said.
The officer noticed that the driver appeared to be hiding something between his legs, so the officer asked the driver what he was hiding.
The driver threw something out of his car, saying it was “weed.” During a subsequent search of the car, police found a white powder that field-tested positive for cocaine. The total amount of cocaine was 12 grams, the report said. Police also found empty plastic bags, a measuring scale and $409 in small bills.
According to the report, the driver told police he had been laid off from his job as a welder and that he was selling cocaine to provide for his family.
Howard Lederick Simmons, 38, of 2662 Louise Drive, North Charleston, is charged with trafficking in cocaine.
He was being held in the Charleston County jail on $50,000 bail set Sunday. Simmons was given a warning ticket for the marijuana, the report said.
According to court records, Simmons was arrested by North Charleston police on cocaine distribution charges in 2003.
When the case went to court in 2004, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was given a five-year suspended sentence, two years of probation and ordered to complete a drug and alcohol treatment program.
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