Man arrested for selling cocaine....door to door....Out of his ice cream truck....

[jkwest]

clicky

Some residents in Nassau County were shocked to discover their ice cream man was dishing out a lot more than just frozen treats.

It turns out, police said, that he was peddling drugs.

When you hear the jingle … you know Mr. Softee is rolling your way.

But people in one Westbury neighborhood found out their ice cream man was not just selling the creamiest, dreamiest soft ice cream to customers at a corner house.

"But he was always there at the end. And we was like why he take so long?" resident Kenya Hernandez wondered.

Police said 22-year-old Mr. Softee man Kenneth Leiton was also selling cocaine. Parents and neighbors were stunned.

"Oh my gosh that's scary! They go out all the time to buy ice cream," parent Maria Canales said.

"That's awful because there's a lot of kids in this neighborhood," added neighbor Jimmy Kalamaras.

Detectives were working an unrelated drug case in the Westbury neighborhood on Saturday when they spotted Leiton get out of his ice cream truck and walk up to a house. A woman answered the door and police said she gave Leiton cash for a bag of cocaine.

"They stopped him, they talked to him. They found drugs on him and they arrested him," said Det. Lt. Raymond Coté of the Nassau County Police Department.

Leiton has a record for drug possession, but representatives from Mr. Softee said they didn't know because Leiton doesn't own the franchise truck he was running.

The owner of the franchise was supposed to do a background check on Leiton, but the company declined to comment Monday.

Barry Pollack owns and operates his own Mr. Softee truck, and said he's disappointed to hear someone has tainted the name of a trusted summer staple.

"I'm not familiar with this situation and I know most of the guys just want to go make a living," Pollack said.

But now this Mr. Softee could soon be doing hard time.

On Monday Leiton was arraigned on multiple drug charges and endangering the welfare of a child. He's being held on $100,000 bond and could face up to nine years in prison.

just order the Super Astro Pop....