(BRADLEY COUNTY, TENN.) - The 27-year old Bradley County man arrested Tuesday for allegedly trying to broker an illegal drug deal says local deputies are making him out to be something worse than he truly is, but the accused's admission to Channel 3 Wednesday is surprising.
Christopher Andrew Brewer was arrested Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a Cleveland fast food restaurant after deputies say they responded to his text offer for R30s and Opana 40 pain pills.
Brewer says he was responding to numerous text requests from an unidentified female who was looking to buy drugs.
Brewer admits to dabbling in the drug trade when he was younger but claims he's been clean, sober and straight since his March 20th release from prison on a statutory rape conviction.
"I take full responsibility for what I did, but at the same time, the police are trying to make me out like I'm the big kingpin in Cleveland and that I'm a big hardcore drug addict," says Brewer, roughly 24 hours after his arrest for soliciting a drug transaction.
"I didn't initiate to want to sell drugs, we didn't make any calls first, he just called the wrong number and called one of my detectives and I appreciate that," says Captain Steve Lawson of the Bradley County Sheriff's Office. "And maybe he qualifies for the dumbest criminals."
Brewer calls his arrest a set-up, saying he texted a woman who for days asked him to get her medications and after his arrest, a shakedown for information.
"For 45 minutes, they tried to persuade me to tell on people to get this charge either reduced or dropped, which I refused to do," said Brewer.
Brewer insists he had no intention of selling drugs to anyone. But when I pressed him as to why he would make such an offer and then show up at the location at the said time, he was rather candid about his motivations.
"Honestly, I was just going to take her money and leave sir.. and that's the honest to God's truth." " So you were going to rip her off? I asked. " Yeah,' Brewer confirmed. "Because if she couldn't respect that I told her for over a week now that I don't live that life no more , I don't want to be that drug dealer, I don't want to be 'The Man' as they call it around here, then I was going to make sure she understood," explained Brewer.
Captain Steve Lawson of the Bradley County Sheriff's Office is standing by his detectives and Brewer's arrest, whatever his intent may have been, either drug dealing or robbery.
"They're both crimes, they're both crimes and if you do them you ought to be punished and that's what our objective is in this county," said Lawson emphatically.
Brewer says he's now jobless and will be homeless as of Friday due to Tuesday's arrest.
He says he plans on hiring an attorney to fight his new legal battle, one Bradley County deputies say they look forward to trying in a court of law as opposed to public opinion.
