A Watertown man faces charges of dealing drugs after he was arrested in a joint investigation by the Watertown Police Department and the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force.
On the afternoon of April 5, Watertown Police got a search warrant for an apartment on Winter Street, near the parking lot of the Watertown Free Public Library. Working with the Drug Task Force, police staked out the area of the building, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.
“A vehicle pulled up and entered the lot of the apartment complex. Police observed a man go into building and a short time later walked back to the vehicle,” O’Connor said. “The man was known to police as a user of narcotics who had been involved in multiple drug offenses.”
Police confronted the man, who admitted to buying $20 worth of crack cocaine from the man whose apartment they had a warrant, O’Connor said. They also recovered some drugs.
Officers approached the door, and observed the target of the sting standing in the hallway, O’Connor said.
“Upon seeing police, the man turned and sprinted down the hallway into his apartment and slammed the door shut,” O’Connor said. “Officers forced entry into the apartment and immediately heard what was the toilet flushing. The suspect walked out of the bathroom.”
Police believe the suspect, identified as Zachary Shelton, 28, of Watertown, had flushed his stash of drugs down the toilet, O’Connor said.
While police did not find any drugs, they did find some other items commonly associated with drug dealers, including a digital scale and a significant amount of cash, O’Connor said.
Police arrested Shelton on a charge of distributing a Class B drug. He was arraigned in Waltham District Court on April 6.