Dumpster-Diving Drug Dealer Had Air Gun, Steak Knife, Brookline Cops Say

Brookline police last week said they arrested a drug dealer while he was dumpster-diving on Beacon Street.

Richard Villa, 24, of 153 Foster St., Brighton, was charged with intent to distribute marijuana.

Police said on May 15 at about 3:45 a.m., they got a call about a man entering a dumpster in a construction area near 1514 Beacon St. Officers responded and said they saw Villa up on the dumpster. He told them he was looking for scrap metal.

Officers said they smelled marijuana wafting from his Ford F-150 pickup truck. They said they found 1.4 ounces of marijuana and a bunch of baggies. They said they also found a prescription bottle for amphetamines, a blue bag containing a crushed brown pill, an air gun, and a streak knife.