East Hartford man held in suspected crack sales in Glastonbury
Jan. 30—An East Hartford man is being held on $200,000 bond while facing accusations that he twice sold small amounts of suspected crack cocaine to an undercover police officer in Glastonbury late last year, then showed up at a meeting in January prepared to sell a good deal more crack.
DRUG CHARGES
DEFENDANTS: Damian Lorenzo "Ziggy" Douglas, 35, of 2 Oakwood St., East Hartford and Christopher Atkinson, 53, of 505 Burnside Ave., East Hartford
CHARGES: Douglas is facing four felony counts of sale of narcotics in three cases, as well as three misdemeanor possession counts. Atkinson is facing a single misdemeanor possession count.
STATUS: Douglas is being held on $200,000 bond and is next due Feb. 27 in Manchester Superior Court. Atkinson is free on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is due Feb. 21 in the Manchester court.
Damian Lorenzo "Ziggy" Douglas, 35, who lists his address as an apartment at 2 Oakwood St. in East Hartford, is charged with possession and sale of narcotics in the crack sales that occurred Nov. 29 and Dec. 13.
He is facing a misdemeanor possession count and two felony sale counts in the final incident, which occurred Jan. 24.
No sale actually took place that day, according to a police report.
But the undercover officer had asked Douglas to provide an "eightball," or an eighth of an ounce, of crack, and police found a bag containing 3.7 grams, a little more than an eighth of an ounce, of suspected crack under the driver's seat of the car he arrived in.
That amount of crack typically costs $240 to $280, police say.
In addition, police say, they found a total of 10 pills containing the prescription narcotic oxycodone, in two different strengths, in an unmarked prescription pill bottle on Douglas' person.
Police say the East Central Narcotics Task Force, which includes police officers from several towns, began the investigation after receiving information from a confidential informant that a crack dealer known as Ziggy was operating in the Glastonbury area.
The informant, who police say has provided information leading to multiple arrests and drug seizures in the past, gave a description of Ziggy that included his habit of wearing a ski mask — as well as providing the phone number he was using.
When Douglas arrived for the first two crack sales, he was wearing a ski mask, although it left most of his face exposed, covering only his hair and neck, police say.
The first two sales involved 1.1 grams and 0.8 grams of material that field tested positive for cocaine, police say. Douglas arrived at those two meetings in ride-sharing cars.
The third time, he arrived in a car driven by Christopher Atkinson, 53, of 505 Burnside Ave., East Hartford, police say.
Atkinson was charged with drug possession and released on a $10,000 non-surety bond, meaning that he didn't have to post money or property but will be charged that amount if he fails to appear in court when required, records show.
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