Man On Trial For ‘Mobile Pharmacy’ Heroin Addict Faces 30 Years After Police Find Large Quantities Of Cocaine, Speed And Heroin In Car

A heroin addict whose criminal record spans 24 years faces 30 years in federal prison if convicted of three federal drug charges.

Edward P. Collicott, 50, went on trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court, accused of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

He was arrested on Interstate 90 west of Spokane last June after Spokane County sheriff’s detectives followed his car to and from Yakima.

They found $5,000 in cash on Collicott and significant amounts of speed, cocaine and black tar heroin in a bag in the back seat of his rented car.

“This case is about a virtual mobile pharmacy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington told the jury hearing the case.

What the jurors weren’t told is that if they convict Collicott, he will face a mandatory federal sentence of 30 years in prison.

Collicott has nine previous felony convictions, including six for possessing or distributing drugs.

Despite prison sentences of up to 15 years, Collicott has spent only a few years behind bars for the state convictions.

He was convicted in 1971 of possession of a controlled substance, grand larceny and second-degree assault. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Two years later he was back out and convicted of interstate transportation of stolen securities. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

By 1975, he was convicted of grand larceny, and got one year in prison.

He was convicted of drug offenses in 1986, 1988 and 1989.

Last summer, an informer told authorities that Collicott was running a mobile drug operation.

Undercover detectives assigned to the sheriff’s department Investigative Support Unit began surveillance of Collicott in the Spokane Valley.

The jury was told that Collicott rented a car, using a phony name, and left the Red Top Motel for a trip that took him and a female companion to Yakima.

Five undercover Spokane County detectives followed Collicott to Yakima and watched him go to three homes before checking into the Red Apple Motel.

The next day, the detectives in unmarked cars followed Collicott and his passenger, Melaunie Zaidi, formerly of Phoenix, back to Spokane.

Detectives found the drugs when they stopped the car on the freeway.

They seized 124 grams of 96 percent pure methamphetamine, 11 grams of 27 percent pure heroin and 26 grams of 91 percent pure cocaine.

“That’s a large quantity of controlled substances,” Deputy David Knechtel testified.

In opening statements, defense attorney Dan Johnson said Collicott has a “different version about how this incident occurred.”

“He’s going to tell you he’s a drug addict,” Johnson told the jury. “He’s had a problem with heroin for a number of years.”

But the drugs found in the car belonged to Zaidi, who wasn’t charged, the defense attorney told the jury.

He said Zaidi approached Collicott and said she would finance a trip to Yakima so she could buy drugs.

The 36-year-old woman has resorted to prostitution to support her drug habit, Johnson said.

As they drove from Spokane to Yakima, Zaidi used drugs, the defense attorney said.

During the two days of surveillance, the undercover officers never saw Collicott make a drug purchase or possess the drugs, Johnson said.

“Ed Collicott, in this case, is going to be the fall guy,” the defense attorney said.