MONROE — A Monroe man colloquially known as “crazy Pete” faces felony drug and gun charges following an investigation by the State Line Anti-Narcotics Task Force.
Peter Victor Cramer, 37, is charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver marijuana, maintaining a drug trafficking house, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of an illegally obtained prescription and felony bail jumping, according to a criminal complaint.
The charges follow a raid on a storage unit on Bethel Road in the Town of Monroe rented by Cramer. The task force reportedly obtained a tip on the unit by an informant. A police K9 dog also added to the probable cause, having hit on the unit when brought in to sniff for drugs, according to the complaint.
At one point, police said, Cramer tried to replace the lock supplied by the storage company with one of his own but was later forced to remove it.
Once inside unit 23 of the storage complex, police allegedly found bags of marijuana and other drugs, including Clonozepam, for which Cramer had no prescription. They also said they found a shotgun, boxes of ammunition and two ballistic vests.
The incident is not Cramer’s first felony encounter with law enforcement:
In 2017, he faced a Class H count of child abuse, a Class I count of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance after an incident on April 8 of that year.
According to a police report, Cramer invited a 16-year-old boy to join him and several others in a game of basketball in Twining Park in Monroe. As the game progressed, Cramer began playing more aggressively. Eventually, the teenager reportedly blocked Cramer with his arm, to which Cramer reacted by punching the teenager twice in the face.
Cramer left the scene before police could respond, but officers deduced his identity by his nickname “Pete” and his habit of shouting “LeBron Cramer” whenever he scored a basket. When police later arrested Cramer, they discovered 92 grams of marijuana in his backpack, along with plastic baggies and scales used to measure and package marijuana. They also found 15.5 tablets of Lorazepam, a controlled narcotic, in his backpack.
He was sentenced to 270 days in jail on that incident.
In 2018 he also was charged with felony marijuana possession and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.
More drug possession, bail jumping and disorderly conducts followed in 2023. That case is headed for trial, with a status conference to set the trial date currently scheduled for April 16.
A preliminary hearing on the new charges is scheduled for March 14 before Circuit Judge Thomas J. Vale. Cramer remains in jail on $2,000 bond, according to District Attorney Craig Nolen.