Man trying to sell drugs to cop says he really just wanted to rob her, NC sheriff says
A 27-year-old man in North Carolina thought he was messaging a stranger on Facebook when he offered her prescription pain medication for $5 a pop.
She was actually an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. He also didn’t actually have the drugs.
Instead, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said Darius Jajuan Torrence and his co-conspirator, 23-year-old Donavan Eli Lucien Paquette, planned to rob her. Torrence and Paquette were arrested Tuesday after the off-duty deputy arranged to meet them, according to a release.
“Our deputy thinking and acting fast last night helped possibly save someone from getting robbed,” Sheriff Darren Campbell said.
Torrence initially messaged the deputy, who was not identified, offering to sell her Subutex — a highly addictive pain reliever, according to the sheriff’s office.
Law enforcement said he offered to sell 50 Subutex for $5 per strip.
The deputy then notified Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Investigators and arranged a meetup at the Loves Truck Stop in Statesville, the sheriff said.
Deputies discovered Torrence never had the drugs after they stopped the pair in a vehicle later that day.
“He admitted that he was going to take the person’s money,” the release states. “(Torrence) was questioned about the person he was messaging, and if he knew he was messaging a law enforcement officer. He said he was unaware the person was a deputy.”
Campbell said this is not the first such occurrence.
“From our past experiences in narcotics investigations, we have seen people who engage in drug sales, or alleged drug sales like in this matter, arrange to meet the unsuspecting drug buyers, only to take their money, and drive away or rob them by force after they have met,” he said in the news release.
According to deputies, Paquette admitted to giving Torrence $140 to buy the Subutex and that the pair were at the Loves Truck Stop to “get money so Torrence could have enough money to purchase the Subutex from a pharmacy.”
Torrence and Paquette were charged with felony conspiracy to sell and deliver Schedule III drugs, according to the release. Torrence was also charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretences.
Paquette was additionally served an outstanding arrest warrant for failure to appear on charges relating to driving with a revoked license and displaying a fictitious tag, the release states.
Both were taken to the Iredell County Detention Center and issued $7,500 and $6,000 bonds, respectively.
