Beeville police arrested two men on drug charges.

According to reports on file at the Beeville Police Department, 35-year-old Oscar Franco was taken into custody on a charge of manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance, less than one gram, after officers found what they suspected was cocaine in his pockets.

Sgt. Stephen Phipps made the arrest after seeing the suspect walk out the back door of Papi’s Lounge, 1517 West Corpus Christi St., just after 10 p.m. on Oct. 2.

According to the report, Phipps was with Patrolmen Ryan Treviño and Peter Silvas patrolling bars in the city at the time.

When Treviño and Silvas walked through the front door they saw two men walk out the back.

Phipps was waiting outside the back door and he stopped them and had the police dispatcher run a warrant check on the two men.

The dispatcher reported that Franco did have a warrant issued by the Bee County Sheriff’s Office, Officer Phipps reported.

Phipps told Franco he was under arrest and he asked if the suspect had anything illegal in his possession. Franco said he did have a small amount of cocaine for his personal use, according to the officer’s report.

Phipps found some cocaine in Franco’s shirt pocket but then he found more cocaine in Franco’s left rear pocket inside a small plastic bag that was inside a larger plastic bag. The officer also found a wadded up $20 bill stuffed in Franco’s pocket.

Officers said it appeared that Franco had been selling the drug and they took him to the Bee County Jail where he was booked on the previously mentioned charge.

The charge is listed as a state jail felony punishable by a term of up to two years in a state jail facility and a fine of as much as $10,000.

Phipps also arrested a 48-year-old man on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, cocaine. That charge also is a state jail felony.

According to a report on file, Phipps arrested Julian Rodriguez after stopping a Ford Ranger pickup in the 700 block of West Springer Street just after 3 a.m. on Oct. 3 when he noticed the vehicle had an expired inspection sticker.

Rodriguez was one of three occupants in the vehicle. Phipps said he smelled alcohol in the truck and asked the occupants to step outside. At that time, Phipps reported, he noticed Rodriguez appeared intoxicated. Although Rodriguez was a passenger, he admitted that he was the owner of the truck.

During a search of the vehicle, Phipps found a cigarette box and inside was a small plastic bag containing a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine, the officer recounted in his report.

Rodriguez said the cigarette box was his and he was arrested.