POLICE BURN DRUG SUSPECT WITH FAKE FIRE

A staged call about a grass fire helped Carteret County authorities put a
man accused of selling marijuana in jail.

Steven Francis Fasano, 49, of 219 Redwood Drive in Broad Creek, was
arrested Wednesday by the Carteret County Sheriff's Department and charged
with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and cocaine,
manufacturing marijuana by packaging and re-packaging, and maintaining a
dwelling for drug activity.

Fasano was arrested after the Sheriff's Department staged a fire call to
get Fasano out of his home so that a search warrant could be executed, said
sheriff's detective Frank Galizia.

Approximately a pound of marijuana and another 4.9 grams of a white
substance suspected to be cocaine were seized from Fasano's home, Galizia said.

With cooperation from the Broad Creek Fire and Emergency Medical Services
Department, sheriff's deputies rode into Bogue Pines Mobile Home Park off
N.C. 24 with a fire truck and ambulance with lights and sirens. Galizia
said they walked around the neighborhood with firefighters and rescue
workers asking about a fake grass fire.

"We told them we had gotten a call about a man having a heart attack while
putting out a grass fire," Galizia said.

The goal was to attract Fasano's attention to get him to leave his
residence so that deputies could quickly get inside his home with a search
warrant.

Galizia said investigators feared Fasano would dispose of any drugs that
may have been inside the house once he knew why deputies were there.
Because deputies anticipated multiple locks on the home that could delay
their entry, they didn't want to give Fasano time to dispose of evidence.

The grass fire tactic was a first for Galizia.

"As soon as he opened the front door, the deputies were there waiting,"
Galizia said.

Sheriff's deputies were joined by detectives Jeff Covington of Morehead
City Police Department and Tami Thomas of Atlantic Beach Police Department
in executing the search warrant.

Fasano also has a residence in Hillsborough, and authorities said he
travels between Carteret County and Hillsborough to conduct alleged drug
dealing.

Galizia said the Sheriff's Department received a tip from a caller to
Crimestoppers that marijuana was being sold at the residence. The
department obtained a search warrant based on the tip and prior information
investigators had about suspected drug activity by Fasano.

Fasano was placed in the Carteret County Jail under a $10,000 bond.