GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Green Bay man will be arraigned on drug charges next week.
48-year-old Clinton E. Peterson is charged with felony possession of narcotic drugs and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. The felony is a second and subsequent offense and both counts have repeater enhancers.
According to the criminal complaint, members of the Brown County Drug Task Force were attempting to set up a controlled buy of heroin from a suspect on August 15.
After investigators made multiple phone calls with the suspected dealer looking for a place to meet, around 8 p.m. they were told to meet at the Walmart on Main Street in Bellevue.
Investigators parked in front of the store looking for their dealer. At that point, a vehicle pulled up and parked two stalls away. Their suspected dealer was seen walking towards that vehicle. Investigators spotted the dealer and Peterson talking at his trunk, with the trunk open.
“It appeared that they were doing a drug deal as they bent inside of the trunk,” the complaint states.
The cops swarmed on the vehicle and took both men into custody.
The complaint states that a search of Peterson’s front shirt pocket found a plastic sandwich baggie containing 0.52 grams of brown chunk material. A Mecke’s Modified Test was performed and it came back positive for the presence of heroin.
On the floor of the vehicle’s backseat, investigators found a backpack which, “contained a spoon with residue on it, a gray digital scale, syringes and a rubber tie off.” Cops say these items are commonly associated with intravenous drug users.
During a subsequent interview, Peterson says he, “was clean for about 1 year until a couple months ago.” He allegedly stated he ran out of medications for his back and started using heroin.
According to Peterson, “he met “KB” through another heroin addict.” Peterson also said he owed the dealer several hundred dollars so he was going to repay him as well as get more heroin.
Once in the parking lot, Peterson explains, the dealer started looking through some items in his trunk. Peterson allegedly, “knew that the electronic items in the trunk were stolen from somewhere in Marinette.” He then traded the items for two $40 bags of heroin.
Peterson claimed that the heroin in his pocket was not from that dealer, as they had not completed the deal yet.
According to court records, Clinton Peterson was convicted of felony delivery of cocaine in Brown County back on January 3, 2011. Peterson was also convicted of felony possession of narcotics in Shawano County on June 11, 2013.
Peterson returns to Brown County court on Monday. If convicted of both charges, he faces more than 13 years in prison.
