Police: New Kensington man charged with dealing drugs after crack cocaine found during traffic stop

Police are accusing a New Kensington man of being a drug dealer after officers said they found more than half an ounce of crack cocaine while he was being searched following a traffic stop.

John Lavell Hawkins, 34, of Ridge Avenue was charged by New Kensington police with a felony count of possession of drugs with intent to deliver, driving under the influence and five other offenses in connection with his Jan. 13 arrest.

Hawkins is being detained in the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post $50,000 bond. He faces a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on Jan. 27, according to court records.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that officers from New Kensington and Arnold were working a narcotics suppression detail with agents from the state Attorney General’s Office when Hawkins was arrested.

The team became suspicious after they spotted a light-colored Lincoln without a license plate in the area where they were conducting surveillance, the complaint said.

About an hour later, patrol officers said, they spotted the same SUV in the parking lot of the Arby’s restaurant at the intersection of Fourth Street and Stevenson Boulevard (Route 366) in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood and conducted a traffic stop, according to the complaint.

Police said Hawkins was driving the car, which is owned by a woman who was a passenger. The pair were unable to provide police with the registration or proof of insurance for the vehicle, according to the complaint.

Police said Hawkins handed over a bag of marijuana after an officer asked him if there was any in the car.

After the woman consented to have the car searched, a police dog was dispatched to the scene to check if there were additional drugs, the complaint said.

Police said they found an open water bottle in the driver’s door pocket that contained an alcoholic beverage. They charged Hawkins with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana, according to the complaint.

An officer who searched Hawkins while he was being taken into custody said he was concealing more than 18 grams of suspected crack cocaine on his body. They say he had a small digital scale in his pocket and $201, the complaint said.

Police said Hawkins failed a field sobriety check and that the substance they found while he was being searched tested positive for cocaine.

Hawkins was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison to have blood drawn and tested for the presence of alcohol or drugs in his bloodstream.

The cocaine was sent to the state police crime lab in Greensburg for additional analysis, police said.