CROWN POINT

Gary man sent to prison for dealing crack cocaine

Robert Gardner Jr., 31, of Gary, was sentenced this week to 12 years in prison for dealing cocaine.

Gardner pleaded guilty April 24 to the felony charge.

Gardner was driving north March 6, 2007, on Broadway near 19th Avenue in Gary when a Lake County police officer stopped him for a broken taillight and failure to use a turn signal.

As the officer approached the vehicle, he noticed a large plastic bag hanging out of Gardner's right pant leg, according to the Lake County prosecutor's office.

When asked about it, Gardner replied it was "just a few rocks." The officer then removed from the defendant's pant leg three knotted plastic bags. Inside were 29 individual bags that contained a total of 11.8 grams of crack cocaine.

Gardner has a prior conviction for dealing in cocaine in Porter County and a prior possession of cocaine conviction in Lake County, prosecutors said.