CLEVELAND, Ohio — State troopers recovered roughly 3,000 grams of cocaine during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Mahoning County, leading to felony drug charges against a Richmond Heights man, authorities said.
The stop occurred Jan. 21 around 1:37 p.m., when troopers pulled over a 2014 Cadillac SRX with Pennsylvania plates for a defective vehicle violation. Investigators said criminal indicators were observed during the interaction, prompting a Highway Patrol K-9 to conduct a sniff of the vehicle. The dog alerted, and a subsequent probable-cause search uncovered the cocaine, valued at approximately $81,000.
The passenger, Randy Cottingham, 55, of Richmond Heights, was taken into custody and booked into the Mahoning County Jail. He faces first-degree felony counts of drug possession and drug trafficking.
The case remains under investigation.