Urbana man arrested following a traffic stop in Champaign
URBANA — Police arrested an Urbana man after officers found suspected crack cocaine on him following a traffic stop in Champaign.
Lawrence Carter, 28, who listed an address in the 600 block of Sunrise Drive, Urbana, pleaded innocent on Tuesday to felony unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance.
According to a police report, Carter was a passenger in a car that was pulled over in the 900 block of Bloomington Road, Champaign, at 1:34 a.m. Sunday because the vehicle had expired plates.
When police searched Carter, they found six individually packaged rocks of suspected crack cocaine with a total weight of 1.6 grams and $1,321 on his person.
Champaign police spokeswoman Rene Dunn said no charges were filed against the driver.
Carter was released from the Champaign County Jail after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond. His next court appearance was set for Nov. 29.
They searched a guy because he was in a car with expired plates???? Do you really think that the people will EVER believe that to be probable cause or a reasonable search? Sounds like a bit of profiling might have been taking place that night. What next? Shall the police state...oops I mean force, play TSA agent and perform a strip search on the city streets after they detain a woman for jay walking? Come on guys...Give me a break!!!!
Your comment says a lot about you, pretty sure there is more to this story than printed. Ever think this fine citizen had a warrant, was on probation, etc, no apparently you didn't think at all just spewed ignorance. Further they can search if the individual agrees to such search.
Atleast you have some common sense freechampaign. It's funny how people read the very few facts they can find in a News Gazette article and then think they can come up with a logical and educated reason to criticize someone, usually the police. If turtletoesmyass read the whole criminal code, which he didn't, then he would realize anybody on parole MSR can be searched and seized at anytime anywhere by police no matter what he is doing. These guys should not be out of prison anyways that's why they make this law. With a shooting and robbery almost every day in Champaign you people should be happy the police are being proactive. And for the probable cause, nobody is out at 130 in the morning except for criminals and people going to and from work. This car was probably suspicious in a high drug area and the expired plates were used to stop the car. And I won't quote the statute number for parole searches, start reading turtleoe
Lawrence Carter is currently on MSR... you can check for yourself on the IDOC website.
http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/search/ListInmates.asp
SEEMS TO ME THEY CAN DO ANYTHING AT A TRAFFIC STOP. DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD FRISK AN 70-80 YEAR OLD WOMAN? THEY STOPPED ME THAT WAY FOR NO REASON EXCEPT I WAS BLACK WHEN THEY HAD WARRANTS FOR A OTHER APARTMENT AND I WAS LEAVING THE PARKING LOT AND WAS FRISKED FOR NO REASON! I HAD CONTRABAND BUT I BEAT IT BECAUSE IT WAS TOTALLY ILLEGAL WHAT THEY HAD DONE! THEY WILL KEEP IT UP UNTIL SOMEONE GETS KILLED AND THEN EVERYONE WANT TO BE SORRY, EVEN THE POLICE. IT'S TOUGH OUT THERE BUT STAY INSIDE THE LAW. THE POLICE ARE TRAINED YET THEY BREAK TO WHAT THEY SWORE TO DO AS A POLICE OFFICER.
I like how you are on here acting like the innocent old lady that was victimized just because she was black, and then go on to state you were in possession of contraband.. Congrats you are a criminal that beat the system because of interpretation of a law, not because you are a law abiding citizen who was victimized. Do you expect us to give you an apology that the police were correct about having a hunch about you had illegal contraband in your possession, but didnt follow procedures.
Please do us all a favor and just stop doing illegal things and just be the kind old innocent lady that you want to make claims of being.
I just have to ask since you read on here at least once a week that the police racially profile the black people in the community.
When a black police officer pulls over and arrest a black person, are they racially profiling too? Or do you people making these comments just feel that the white officers are racially profiling?
Keep in mind you are also making claims that a police officer 'racially profiled' a convicted felon out on parole who was caught with crack cocaine obviously packaged for distribution and an amount of cash that suggest he had already been dealing.
Now is that racial profiling or a cop just doing their job, and the African American community being angered that it just happens to be a black man is the criminal in this circumstances.
I just ask this question as I havent yet read an article on the News Gazette where a white man was convicted of a crime and someone comments that he was racially profiled
"I just have to ask since you read on here at least once a week that the police racially profile the black people in the community.
When a black police officer pulls over and arrest a black person, are they racially profiling too? Or do you people making these comments just feel that the white officers are racially profiling?"
You seem to have confused yourself with your own question. Racial profiling can happen by white as well as black officers.
Here's a question. When whites are pulled over, how often if at all, are the other passengers questioned, asked to produce I.D, searched, or asked to submit to searching? Now ask the same question for blacks and allow the facts to speak for themselves.
"Keep in mind you are also making claims that a police officer 'racially profiled' a convicted felon out on parole who was caught with crack cocaine obviously packaged for distribution and an amount of cash that suggest he had already been dealing."
Assuming that this is indeed factual. No officer could know or have evidence these things by looking at someone.
"I just ask this question as I havent yet read an article on the News Gazette where a white man was convicted of a crime and someone comments that he was racially profiled"
I believe you may be correct about that. I also believe the majority of whites that were convicted of similar crimes were caught in their homes or but I could be wrong. The question would be what and where are the racially profiled areas (answer: low income areas) and were the people in question within those areas?
I've been pulled over due to a license plate light being out...which is a stupid reason to pull some one over, but occured after midnight so maybe reasonable cause...anyway in regards to your post I am 24, white. I got off of work late that night and went grocery shopping with my girlfriend, also 24 and white and when pulled over they did ask for both of our id's in order to run background checks to see if we had warrants...I was asked and got out of the car to speak with the officer. I think it's wrong that you say that this doesn't happen to whites in this community...the one time I was pulled over in this area the cop ran both of our id's and have been living here for 6 years. It does happen and when your id is ran and pulls up previous offenses i believe that it is warranted...shouldn't have messed up the first time. I don't care about the legal stuff because I had nothing to hide
truthfully cops are just looking for something to bust people for. They are not consist though.
Lawrence Is pretty dumb in actuallity, not only because he's already on parole, but if you were on parole and you knew you were going to be searched, and you were in the process of being pulled over, wouldn't you attempt to hide the drugs? Swallow them? Put them in your underwear?
I'm not here to defend what this person did or did not do. I'm just curious as to the necessity of the officers interactions with an individual that was not driving, during a traffic stop that yields no charges against the driver? I comprehend that the individual was on parole or some sort but no officer can know this by simply looking at someone, excluding the chance that it's the officer that previously arrested him.
Why is anyone surprised that the cops would be involved in a questionable arrest? More drug arrests mean more people in jail, means more drug war money to hire more cops...of course they want to find drugs on people...even if it means bending *not breaking* common sense rules a little bit. Guilty until you prove your innocence these days.....
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