Three face drug charges after traffic stop in West Reading

A group of men chose the middle of the day, and the middle of the street, to make a drug deal. West Reading police officers were watching about 3:34 p.m. Jan. 6 as the four men, in a vehicle stopped at Franklin Street and South Fifth Avenue in the borough, handed items off to one another. One of the men got out of the car, and the driver drove away, speeding and turning without signaling. Police stopped the car and smelled marijuana immediately. They found pot in the car and on one of the suspects.

All three men were charged. The suspected driver, a 20-year-old Reading man, was charged with pot possession, conspiracy to possess pot, failure to use a turn signal and speeding. A second suspect, a 19-year-old Reading man, was also charged with marijuana possession and conspiracy. The third suspect, a 21-year-old Wyomissing man, was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance and conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance. The three were jailed in lieu of $5,000 each.