Drug Dealer Hides Stash in Gas Tank

According to reports from the , a Norristown woman and a Philadelphia man were arrested early Monday morning and are being charged with numerous drug violations including possession with intent to distribute after finding a significant amount of crack cocaine hidden in the gas tank of the vehicle they were driving.

Officers encountered 31-year-old Cheri Kavetski, of the 200 block of Stanbridge Street, and 43-year-old Mark Willis, with a last known address listed in Philadelphia, at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, May 14 in the 500 block of March Alley – an area police say high crime and drug trafficking area. The red Ford Explorer they and a third woman were in was parked illegally and officers approached the vehicle and questioned the occupants about their reason for being in the area.

Kavetski, a passenger in the vehicle who at the time reportedly identified herself as Sarah Thompson, allegedly told officers they were waiting for a friend. The driver, later identified as Willis, appeared nervous according to a police report.

Officers left the scene, but circled back and watched the vehicle from a distance. They reported seeing no one else approach the car, but watched as the car left the scene minutes later. Police pulled the vehicle over in the 500 block of Haws Avenue to continue investigating and learned that Willis did not have identification and claimed his license was suspended, a fact confirmed by police. Officer asked Willis if anything in the vehicle belonged to him and he allegedly identified a book bag as his, but then recanted, saying nothing in the car belonged to him.

The third suspect in the vehicle, 31-year-old Yvonne Moody, of King of Prussia, the owner of the car, consented to a search of the vehicle. A search of Kavetski's belongings revealed needles in a small, see-through mesh purse other drug paraphernalia. A search of the book bag, who no one on the scene would claim ownership of, revealed drug paraphernalia and a phone charger for a Samsung phone matching the model Willis had on his person. Willis also had $306 in cash on his person.

During questioning on the scene, Kavetski reportedly "reluctantly" told police that they should "check the gas tank," but not to do so in front of Willis. When police opened the tank, they reportedly discovered a black cloth bag on a string, containing two sandwich baggies with multiple red baggies in each of those. Inside the smaller bags, officers reportedly discovered approximately 18 grams of crack cocaine.

Willis was placed under arrest and reportedly told police repeatedly that he does not use drugs. Not pipes used in smoking crack were found on Willis' person, but police allege that text messages retrieved from the phone recovered from his person are consistent with that of a person who deals crack.

The following items were recovered in the search of the vehicle and the suspects:

• A black cloth bag tied with a string;
• Two Sandwich baggies containing multiple smaller baggies containing crack cocaine weighing approximately 18 grams (found inside the black cloth bag);
• A Samsung Cricket mobile phone; 
• An Embark-brand book bag;
• "Smart and Simple Foam Plates" plastic bag (found inside the book bag);
• Black shopping bag containing a glass plate with cocaine residue (found inside the plastic bag);
• Tea light candle, lighter and an apple baggie containing a straw and a razor with cocaine residue (found inside the black shopping bag);
• Toothbrush case with toothbrush and spoon (found inside the book bag);
• Power charger for Samsung Cricket mobile phone (found inside the book bag);
• $306 in cash (on Willis);
• See-through mesh person containing two needles and an orange pill bottle containing an unknown liquid (on Kavetski);

Kavetski is being charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and giving false ID to police. Warrants were issued for both Kavetski and Moody on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

A list of charges for Willis were not available, but The Times Herald reports that he was violating his probation when he was arrested and is currently being held on $25,000 bail. Willis, who's aliases are listed as Mark Anthony Willis, Quron Willis, and Mark A Willis, has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1999.