Traffic stop leads to arrest of long-term suspect

Lt. Scott Oldham of the Bloomington Police Department stopped Chicago resident Walter Wells at about 11:11 p.m. Friday near West Third Street, not knowing Wells was a suspect in a long-term drug investigation.

Oldham stopped Wells for speeding in a black Pontiac Grand Prix with tinted windows, Sgt. Steve Kellams said. When Oldham approached the car, he smelled burning marijuana.

After searching the car, Oldham found less than 30 grams of marijuana. He arrested Wells and booked him for marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, and maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony.

That wasn’t the end of the story, however.

“Mr. Wells was questioned by detectives and subsequently arrested for three counts of B felony dealing in cocaine,” Kellams said. “That’s the result of a long-term drug investigation.”

Bloomington police have been investigating Wells since November 2011, Kellams said. Wells had sold small amounts of cocaine to undercover police several times before he was arrested.

“There’s at least three controlled purchases of cocaine from him,” Kellams said.

— Mary Kenney