MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 21-year-old Columbia Heights man is accused of hiding drugs and stolen property in his pants while outside an Eagan business, according to charges filed Friday in Dakota County Court.
Eric Lee King was charged with felony fifth-degree controlled substance and shoplifting, a misdemeanor, in connection with the Dec. 5, 2011 incident.
According to the charges, King was walking out of a store that day when an Eagan Police officer saw him drop a box of candy in the store parking lot. When he tried to get King’s attention about it, King ignored him and kept walking.
King’s pants were noticeably starting to fall down and he continued to ignore the officer’s repeated attempts to get his attention. The officer eventually got out of his car and addressed King, and at that point King squatted down and reached in the front of his pants. The officer took him into custody for safety reasons, the complaint states.
The officer then saw in plain view that King had a large item wrapped in plastic and stuffed down his pants. It was a 19-inch flat screen television. King also had other items in his pants, including a media player television remote, power cords, a bottle of brake fluid and two Xanax pills, a Schedule IV controlled substance.
If convicted on all charges, King faces more than five years in prison and $11,000 in fines.
