Cops: Anonymous Tip Leads to Ecstacy Arrest

An anonymous tip to police earlier this month led them to an arrest of a man they say had 73 pills believed to be ecstasy.

John Maulbeck, 19, of Flanders, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance on Dec. 6 after police confronted him and another suspect on the Green, after the anonymous tipster had told police a white man with brown curly hair and blue highlights had asked them if they needed anything, police said.

The man described by the tipster—later identified as Francisco Arroyo—had apparently been frequenting and as well, the tipster told police, according to an incident report.

Two plain-clothes officers found Arroyo and Maulbeck with a larger group on the Green at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 6 and confronted them about the suspected illegal drug activity, according to the report. Maulbeck first denied having anything on him, but then Arroyo, who the police report indicated seemed to be getting very nervous, pointed to Maulbeck and said, "He has it, it is in his pocket," according to the report.

Maulbeck then voluntarily emptied his pockets, according to the report. When police asked him about his waistline, though, Maulbeck started to cry, according to the report.

When police asked him if he had the ecstasy in his pants, Maulbeck said, "Yes, but I don't want to pull it out here," according to the report.

Police again asked him to do so, and Maulbeck reached into his pants and pulled out the plastic bag of purple, yellow and pink pills, which were suspected to be ecstasy tablets, according to the report.

During the arrest, Maulbeck told police a man named "Vince," who had face tattoos, handed him the package to hold onto because he saw police driving around and said "he was wanted," according to the report. Police, however, could not confirm this account without further investigation, according to the report.

For questions about this post, email john.dunphy@patch.com.