Traffic Stop Leads to Discovery of Cocaine, Burglary Tools in Branford: Police

BRANFORD, CT — A blown red light led to the arrest of a Branford man and the discovery of cocaine and burglars tools, police said in a news release.

Police arrested Eric Kousen, 26, of Pentecost Street, at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after an officer observed the vehicle Kousen was driving, travel through a red light, police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan said.

Lt. John Alves, the midnight shift commander, said Officer Luigi Amasino noticed Kousen drive through a red light at the intersection of Main and North Main Street, police said.

Amasino stopped Kousen’s vehicle on West Main Street and was assisted by Sergeant Dominick Eula, police said.

While Officer Amasino was interviewing Kousen at the rear of the vehicle, Eula located a glass smoking pipe and a “rock like” substance in plain view in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle, police said.

Both of the items are consistent with smoking rock cocaine and later tested positive for cocaine, police said. Officers also located tools including a glass break tool, flat headed screw driver, mini crow bar and a mini sledge hammer, police said. Alves noted that these tools are commonly used in the act of committing burglaries, Morgan said in a news release.

During the arrest processing procedure at Police Headquarters, Kousen refused to be fingerprinted, police said. Kousen was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia, manufacturing/possession of burglary tools, failure to obey control signal and refusal to be fingerprinted.

Kousen was held on a $5,000 bond and was arraigned in New Haven Court this morning.

Photo via the Branford Police Department