By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 41-year-old Stillwater man suspected of selling cocaine at two bars near Oklahoma State University has been ordered to appear in court on June 23 with an attorney on a charge of trafficking $8,000 worth of cocaine allegedly found in his vehicle on April 15.
“The cocaine was cut from a kilo brick and is the common way cartels bundle cocaine when it is trafficked into the States,” Stillwater Police Detective Josh Carson alleged in an affidavit filed with the felony charge.
If convicted of drug trafficking, Keaton Patrick Lawson could be given a 20-year prison term and a $500,000 fine. Lawson was released from the Payne County Jail on $100,000 bond three days after his arrest, court records show.
The Stillwater detective alleged in an affidavit, “Over the past two years I have been investigating Keaton Lawson for cocaine trafficking in the city of Stillwater. My investigation began when an anonymous informant stated Keaton Lawson was selling cocaine at (two bars), both located near the ‘Strip’ in the city of Stillwater.
“The informant stated Keaton was traveling to Oklahoma City to bring cocaine back to distribute in Stillwater. Keaton was arrested by the Stillwater Police Department at (a bar near OSU) when he was involved in a fight at the bar. During the arrest, Keaton was found to be in possession of individually packaged bundles of cocaine.
“On 2-12-25, I received a phone call from another anonymous informant stating they traveled to (the defendant’s residence) in Stillwater so their friend could purchase cocaine from Keaton Lawson. The informant stated they purchased cocaine from Keaton on ten separate occasions,” at two bars near OSU, the detective alleged in his affidavit.
Fourteen months later, a confidential informant told the detective, “they observed Keaton handing several individuals prepackaged cocaine and watched them go to the bathroom (in a bar) to use it. CI provided me with numerous pictures of bar patrons and identified them as individuals purchasing cocaine direct from Keaton,” the affidavit alleged.
After installing a tracker on the defendant’s truck with a judicial warrant on April 15, “I watched as Keaton drove directly from his residence to Oklahoma City. Keaton stopped in a parking lot…Keaton was there for less than 10 minutes and drove directly back to Stillwater. I continuously monitored the tracker as Keaton drove directly back to Stillwater,” where a traffic stop was conducted on his vehicle at Sanger Road and Highway 51, the detective alleged in his affidavit.
“Detective Elliott stated his K9 alerted to the odor of drugs. I searched the car and found concealed in a box of shirts a black trash bag tied shut. In the bag was a vacuum sealed bundle of a white substance that appeared to be cocaine. I immediately placed Keaton under arrest. Keaton’s vehicle was taken to the Stillwater Police Department for forfeiture.
“I seized the cocaine and Keaton’s two cell phones as evidence and kept them with me as I returned to the Police Department,” where the detective applied for and was granted a judicial warrant for Keaton’s residence where he lived with a relative, his affidavit alleged.
“I searched Keaton’s room. During the search, I found a safe and hidden key in the closet. The safe contained packaging material, scales with cocaine on them, psilocybin mushrooms and assorted pills. I also located two pistols that were chamber-loaded hidden near the safe. The magazines were fully loaded. Cocaine is an expensive and addictive drug. Drug dealers keep weapons close to keep their drugs safe from anyone trying to steal them.
“A total of 279.2 grams of cocaine was seized with a street value of $8,000 along with two pistols and an ounce of Psilocybin mushrooms,” the detective alleged in his affidavit.
