Police search, find drugs in ‘plain view’

A man suspected of accepting a stolen cell phone as payment for heroin did not bother to conceal the drugs when police arrived, according to Dayton police.

Rodney Byrd, 27, of the 200 block of South Hedges Street, was arrested around 5:45 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of felony drug possession, according to Dayton police records.

The arrest comes after a woman reported that her son stole her cell phone and gave it to the suspect as payment for heroin, according to the report.

The suspect agreed to a search of his room. Police said an officer standing in the doorway noticed a cache of heroin and cocaine, later determined to be about 29 grams, and stated: “You got to be kidding. Drugs in plain view.” The cell phone was also located on the dresser, police said.

Byrd was being held in the Montgomery County Jail awaiting a hearing Friday in Dayton Municipal Court.