A Duncan man was apprehended with nearly a gram of heroin after visiting the Circle K in east Safford. (Pictured is the Circle K at U.S. Highway 70 and 11th Avenue.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A late-night visit to a Circle K convenience store Saturday night turned out to be more than an inconvenience for one patron as he was apprehended with nearly one gram of heroin.
According to a Safford Police report, an officer was traveling through the Circle K parking lot at 1682 E. U.S. Highway 70 at about 10:10 p.m. when he noticed a white Dodge Durango parked near a dumpster.
As the officer approached the dumpster, an occupant in the Durango, later identified as Hernan Blancarte, 19, of Duncan, quickly exited the vehicle and entered the store.
The officer noted that Blancarte left the keys in the ignition and a window down with a purse in the back seat.
Upon Blancarte’s return to the SUV, he asked the officer if there was a lot of theft in Safford and thanked him for watching the vehicle while he was in the store.
Suspicious of Blancarte’s behavior, the officer began asking him questions about the contents of the vehicle, and Blancarte allegedly admitted to having a small amount of heroin and a syringe in his possession. He told the officer that he had recently begun to use heroin and had taken the drug within the last day.
The officer secured a black fabric bag that contained a baggie with .8 of a gram of heroin inside, which Blancarte said he paid $40. A syringe located in a red plastic cup in the center console was also confiscated.
Blancarte was released from the scene to a third party, but the officer advised he would be sending his report to prosecutors for review and charging for possession of a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Blancarte was already on probation from a guilty plea of possession of a dangerous drug he entered in Greenlee Superior Court on Nov. 17, 2017. On Tuesday, a petition to revoke his probation was filed in Greenlee County Superior Court.
