By Candi M. Lopez
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — Call it the case of the incriminating drawers.
A Doña Ana County detention officer confiscated an inmate’s underwear after discovering contraband sewn in the waistband, a sheriff’s spokesman said Wednesday.
Detention Officer Robert Santistevan found a plastic container with a “white powder substance” sewn in the inseam of 20-year-old Antonio Brown’s drawers, spokesman Bo Nevarez said.
Seizing the moment, Ne varez wrote a news release with this line: “A Doña Ana County Detention Center inmate learned the hard way that maybe he should have taken up sewing for a hobby.”
Later, Nevarez said that jail officers are trained professionals when it comes to undergarments.
“Brown discovered the hard way, that detention officers have an eye and feel for underwear that doesn’t appear right,” he said.
Brown, of Las Cruces, asked Santistevan to flush the substance down the toilet after the discovery, Ne varez said.
“We believe it to be some sort of narcotic, but we haven’t tested it yet,” he said.
The discovery happened during a clothing search immediately after a court hearing. Brown was being sentenced on a charge of armed robbery, Nevarez said.
Despite the officer’s hard work and eagle eye, the drawers probably don’t amount to important evidence.
“In all probability, he will not be charged because this is considered simple possession under case law,” Nevarez said. “He’s looking at more serious charges.”
Copyright 2009 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper