One of two men arrested in the parking lot of the Giant Eagle grocery store in Verona last Saturday had 100 stamp bags of heroin tucked in his buttocks, police said.

Fred Crawford III, 27, of the 400 block of Penn Street in Verona was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver along with two counts of drug possession and a count of having altered or forged documents. He also was issued three traffic citations.

Crawford was being detained in the Allegheny County Jail after a judge denied bond, according to court records. A date for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Anthony DeLuca had not been scheduled.

On Jan. 4, Pittsburgh police charged Crawford with felony counts of carrying a firearm without a license and possession of illegal body armor along with three misdemeanor gun charges and a count of marijuana possession. He also was issued six traffic violations.

He was ordered to stand trial on the charges during a July 11 preliminary hearing, but court records show he failed to appear for formal arraignment in Allegheny County Court on Aug. 24.

Northern Regional Police filed two felony theft charges against Crawford on Jan. 24, according to court records. The court docket shows he waived his right to a preliminary hearing Sept. 27 and was ordered to stand trial, but he did not show up for formal arraignment Nov. 15.

Police wrote in the latest criminal complaint that Crawford was pulled over Dec. 23 in the supermarket parking lot because the Ford F-250 pickup he was driving didn’t have an inspection sticker. The truck also had a “dead” license plate attached and wasn’t insured, police said.

After police questioned Crawford about the strong smell of burned marijuana coming from the truck, he allowed police to search inside, where they found a bag filled with seven containers of medical marijuana, four packages of candy infused with THC oil and $480 in cash.

Neither man had a medical marijuana card, police said.

The officer wrote in the complaint that, while he was following the truck, the passenger was moving up and down on the seat as though he was trying to put something underneath him.

The man, later identified as Antoine Lamont Smith Jr., 26, also of the 400 block of Penn Street in Verona, told police he didn’t have his identification and gave them two false names, the complaint said.

He was identified after the officer spotted a wallet in his pants pocket that contained a state-issued ID.

Police said Smith was wanted for a state parole violation for narcotics and gun violations as well as a warrant issued by Churchill police for a weapons offense.

During an initial search, police found $420 cash on Smith and three cellphones, the complaint said. Police noted drug dealers often use multiple telephones so they can be discarded to avoid transactions being traced to them.

A strip search was done when Smith was brought to the police station, and officers found two bricks with 50 stamp bags of heroin in each tucked into his buttocks, according to the complaint.

Smith was charged with two felony counts of possession of drugs with intent to deliver and a felony count of flight to avoid arrest. He also faces three misdemeanor drug charges and counts of tampering with evidence and false identification to law enforcement.

He is being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of 10% of a $5,000 cash bond, or $500, court records show.

The bond was set in connection with his arrest in May by Churchill police.

Smith was arrested May 13 and charged with felony counts of possession of drugs with intent to deliver, carrying a firearm without a license and fleeing from police, along with three misdemeanor counts and four traffic violations, court records show.

His preliminary hearing for those charges is scheduled for Wednesday.

A date for a preliminary hearing on the charges filed by Verona police has not been scheduled, court records show.

Smith pleaded guilty in 2018 to felony drug and gun charges filed by Penn Hills police the previous year and was sentenced to a year in prison and five years of probation.

In 2016, Smith pleaded guilty to felony drug possession filed by Pittsburgh police and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Smith also pleaded guilty to a felony count of carrying a firearm without a licence and possession of marijuana filed by Pittsburgh police in 2015 and was sentenced to two years of probation.

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