Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2005
Source: Times-Picayune, The (LA)
Copyright: 2005 The Times-Picayune
Contact:  http://www.nola.com/t-p/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/848
Author: Gwen Filosa, Staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

STORE GUILTY OF SELLING CRACK PIPE

Slender Glass Tube Houses 'Lover's Rose'

A Central City corner store intentionally sold crack cocaine pipes over the 
counter, an Orleans Parish magistrate court has ruled.

The slender four-inch tubes encase tiny plastic roses and are marketed as a 
"Lover's Rose," but law enforcement agencies across the nation have 
identified the gaudy knickknack as having a double life as a crack pipe. 
The tubes can be found near cash registers of stores in the suburbs as well 
as the city. The Nguyens appeared in court Wednesday and opted for trial, 
which they swiftly lost.

The Nguyens were found guilty of having illicit drug paraphernalia, a 
misdemeanor, but won't serve jail time. Magistrate Commissioner Anthony 
Russo sentenced each to six months in the parish prison, all suspended, and 
one year of probation, along with $648 in fines and fees. Russo also 
ordered them not to sell the glass pipes or scouring pads. While the 
federal Drug Enforcement Administration and city police departments from 
Seattle to Nashville, Tenn., have gone after merchants for selling just the 
Pyrex glass tubes, this New Orleans case had its own added twist. The 
Nguyens sold what resembled a prepackaged crack kit: the tube, plus a tiny 
piece of steel wool, which crack users use as a filter when smoking, all 
for a dollar.

The added snippet of steel wool was an obvious sign of illegal intention, 
police said.

In November, an undercover officer entered the store and asked for "one 
pipe," placing his dollar bill on the counter. The 6th District police were 
tipped off by a neighborhood resident outraged that the store was selling 
pipes in one of the city's hot spots for drug dealing. Police officers 
quickly searched the store, finding more than 4,000 of the tubes in the 
back, along with boxes of steel wool.

Typically, prosecutors accusing people of having illegal drug paraphernalia 
have evidence of narcotic residue on the object to bolster their case. But 
in this case, District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office won without a trace 
of crack cocaine on the "Lover's Roses."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager