Former Quad-City area men arrested on drug charges in Texas

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By Linda Cook | Sunday, March 18, 2007 11:55 PM CDT | () comments

Two former Quad-City men are in custody in Houston in connection with cocaine that was found in a van.

A sheriff’s deputy stopped a speeding Mercury minivan with an Iowa plate on Feb. 7 on Interstate 10, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Houston. Radar allegedly clocked the van as traveling 76 mph, deputies reported. The driver was identified as Gary Echols, 26, formerly of Davenport.

Echols allegedly was "extremely nervous," stumbling over simple questions and "seemed deceptive," according to the sheriff’s department. Another deputy arrived on the scene and began questioning Echols' passenger, Donta Brown, 25, also formerly of Davenport.

During the initial search of the van, the deputies observed that someone might have tampered with the dashboard because its screws and snap-on pieces allegedly were either missing or glued in place.

A nearby Baytown, Texas, police officer was dispatched to the scene along with a K-9 partner, Ivo, who is trained in drug detection.

Ivo alerted to his handler that drugs could be present in the dashboard console and the engine, deputies reported.

After officers disassembled the dashboard, they discovered a compartment, which was constructed of sheet metal and secured to the body of the van with glue and tar, between the dashboard and the engine firewall.

The hidden compartment allegedly concealed 10 kilograms of cocaine which, according to the sheriff’s department, has a street value between $250,000 and $500,000.

Both men, who are charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, are being held in the Harris County Jail on $300,000 bond each. They are scheduled for arraignment April 11 in the Harris County Justice Center.

According to Quad-City Times archives, Echols graduated from West High School in 1999.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, as part of a $100 million statewide plan to crack down on drug and human smuggling, introduced Operation Wrangler. Deputies began work on the initiative Feb. 6, 2007. The Quad-City men were arrested on the second day of the operation.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.