GREENWICH VILLAGE — A 22-year-old man was busted at a Greenwich Village pizza parlor with 23 bags of marijuana stashed in his underwear, police said.
Tyrel Henderson was busted at the Karavas Pizza 'N' Pita at roughly 1 a.m. Sunday after cops saw him drop a bag of cocaine inside the pizzeria, 6th Precinct Capt. Raffaele Petti said at a community meeting Wednesday night.
Petti entered Karavas to patrol what police and locals have often called a crime hot spot, he said.
When Henderson spotted the cop, he headed for the door, dropping the cocaine on the way, Petti said.
As Petti and a second officer tried to arrest Henderson, he flailed his arms and pushed away, Petti said, and then tried to fling the drugs down a storm drain.
Cops found an additional five bags of cocaine — drugs Henderson allegedly admitted were his — in the police van that transported him to the 6th Precinct station, according to a criminal complaint.
At the station, police discovered the 23 bags of marijuana in Henderson's underwear, the complaint said.
Petti added Wednesday that Henderson — who faces felony charges for possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana and resisting arrest — was also found with more than 20 bags of cocaine.
Henderson, of Brooklyn, was released Monday on $5,000 bail, according to city Department of Correction records.
Henderson's Legal Aid lawyer, Gordon Ludwig, said Thursday he expects Henderson to receive community service for the drug charges.
Court records show that Henderson has two previous drug arrests in the Village.
In October 2007, when he was 18, a 6th Precinct officer spotted four bags of marijuana in the backseat of a car Henderson was sitting in on Greenwich Street, near West 10th Street. He was charged with criminal possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to court records.
Four months later, in February 2008, Henderson was charged with selling cocaine and marijuana to an undercover officer on Sixth Avenue and West 3rd Street, court records show.
U.S. District Court records show that Henderson has won two settlements against the city for civil rights claims for false imprisonment and a stop-and-frisk.
Henderson sued the city for $100,000 in November 2009, claiming he had been illegally searched and falsely imprisoned after police in December 2007 pulled over a livery cab in which he was riding in Brooklyn, court records show. Cops reportedly found marijuana in the backseat, where he was sitting.
The case was dismissed upon arraignment and Henderson received a $2,500 settlement from the city in December 2010.
That month, Henderson also sued the city for $35,000 for a separate incident. Henderson said he was stopped in front of his Brownsville, Brooklyn, home and frisked by two officers, one of whom placed his hands inside Henderson's pockets and underwear, the lawsuit said.
The officers did not have reason to search Henderson, he said. The city settled the claim in October 2011 for $650.
