Abbotsford man charged with cocaine possession
An Abbotsford man has been charged with felony possession of cocaine with intent to deliver after police found a bag of the illegal drug hidden above the ceiling tile of his bedroom.
Hank Blazel, 54, will have an initial appearance in Marathon County Court on April 2 following the filing of criminal charges on March 18.
The charges are the result of a Jan. 19 incident in which Blazel’s girlfriend alerted police to the presence of cocaine at their residence at 201 S. Sixth St. in Abbotsford.
According to an incident report from the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, the girlfriend was in the process of moving out and had been trying to retrieve some of her belongings, but Blazel prevented her from doing so.
Blazel also accused his girlfriend of using drugs and brought a shoebox of pill bottles and prescription medications to the police station as supposed evidence. The pills in the box were used to treat various medical conditions, such as antidepressants and anti-epileptic drugs.
An officer who responded to the residence that day was shown evidence of illegal drug activities, including a mirror with a white powdery substance on it and a bag of baking soda that was allegedly used to “cut” the cocaine.
The girlfriend also showed the officer a sandwich bag containing two smaller bags of cocaine located in a ceiling tile in the bedroom shared by her and Blazel. The bags contained about 27 grams of cocaine, according to the police report.
When questioned by police, Blazel denied that the cocaine belonged to him and said it may have been left behind by the previous owner of the house. He said his friend told him this. Police contacted the friend, who confirmed this story, though police did not believe it.
Blazel also said he does not use drugs and offered to have his blood tested. The officer questioning him said that would not prove he does not sell cocaine.
The girlfriend also provided police with a couple of photos of Blazel as evidence. One showed him counting money next to a mirror with a cut straw (commonly used to snort cocaine), and the other showed him lying on a bed next to baggie of cocaine.
During his interview with police, Blazel said he has no money to pay his taxes and was behind on his mortgage payments to the bank. Blazel owns multiple properties in Abbotsford, several of which have been the target of ordinance violations related to the storage of junk.
In 2018, Blazel was ordered to pay $39,520 in fines to the city after failing to adequately clean up three properties along STH 13 and one on First Street. If the fines are not paid, they will remain as tax liens on the properties.
Blazel has one previous conviction, from 1997, for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. He was sentenced to five months in jail for that offense.
