What’s the likelihood of someone named Edward Cocaine being busted on drug charges?
In Florida (where else?), the chances are pretty “high.”
When Edward Cocaine — his real name — was brought before the bench on Wednesday, Broward County Judge John “Jay” Hurley seemed stunned.
But he, the friendly defendant himself, court staff, and other “customers” of the judicial system seemed to have a good laugh — i.e., they “cracked” up — over the whole name thing. See the embed below of the Edward Cocaine court appearance.
The bailiff or another court official can be heard stating that Cocaine is listed as the man’s last name on his driver’s license, and the suspect confirmed that surname loud and clear.
Asked the good-natured judge, “You know, I’d thought I’d seen it all… how many times have the police told you to step out of the car sir during your life?”
“Just about every time I get pulled over,” Cocaine, 34, admitted with a chuckle.
This time, after a routine traffic stop on Tuesday in Pembroke Pines, Florida, an officer allegedly found two Xanax pills in the vehicle. Cocaine apparently didn’t have a prescription for the meds and was charged with felony drug possession. The judge released him on his own recognizance , and as he exited the courtroom, a court officer — perhaps the prosecutor — joked “no cocaine, Cocaine.”
Like many families, Cocaine’s forebearers apparently simplified their last name — in this instance to Cocaine — when they arrived at Ellis Island or perhaps another venue from Europe. “My great-grandparents came over here from Greece and they changed it… That was like in the 1920s… but it was my dad’s name, and his dad’s name,” he explained to the judge during the hearing.
In the brief hearing, the presiding judge acknowledged that he was “still trying to absorb” the whole thing.
