Drugs, guns net professed addiction specialist $70,000 bond

A Lawton man claimed he was a mental health addiction specialist when police executed a search warrant for drugs and when confronted about guns in the house claimed he’d been having problems with the “Bloods” gang, according to investigators.

Now, he’s behind bars on $70,000 bond.

Frank Morris Crowley, 58, made his initial appearance Thursday in Comanche County District Court where he received felony charges of maintaining a place for keeping/selling controlled drugs, trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of a firearm after former felony conviction as well as misdemeanor counts of having stolen property, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, records indicate.

Detectives from the Lawton Police Department Special Operations Unit executed a search warrant Tuesday at Crowley’s home, 1511 NW Kingsbury. He told police he was a certified mental health addiction specialist and whomever told police he had drugs was wrong because it is his office and it is covered by client/patient privilege, the affidavit states. Detective Christopher Adamson told him he can’t have any illegal narcotics and Crowley said that’s wrong because “he has to be an addict to assist people,” the detective stated.

When asked if there was any meth or fentanyl in the house, Crowley said there was in his bedroom and police would need a key to get inside, according to the affidavit. He also claimed he’d been in the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division as part of its narcotics program and he knew this was an unlawful search, Adamson stated.

When asked if there were any weapons in the house, Crowley responded he had three guns for protection, according to the investigators. A previously convicted felon, Crowley said he kept the guns because he’d been having trouble with the “Bloods” street gang and needed the weapons for protection, records indicate. One of the guns would later be discovered to have been stolen, according to Adamson.

Police recovered a .22 caliber pistol, a Ruger .22 caliber rifle and a 9mm pistol, along with ammunition inside the house. One bag of meth recovered weighed 29.20 grams and another, 44.94 grams, as well as 5.07 grams of crack cocaine, according to the affidavit. Police also found $669 in cash, Adamson stated.

Crowley has a January 2018 felony conviction in Comanche County for possession of a controlled substance, records indicate.

Crowley returns to court at 3 p.m. April 2 for his preliminary hearing conference.