Off The Beat: Man with cocaine in hat says drugs not his

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A man accused of having cocaine in his hat told investigators he didn’t know the drugs were there, an arrest affidavit states.

A 29-year-old Vero Beach man was arrested at 11:10 p.m. Jan. 8 on a charge of possession of controlled substance after the headgear hullabaloo.

An Indian River County sheriff's deputy reported stopping a bicycle without lights in the area of 17th Lane Southwest and 20th Avenue Southwest.

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The 29-year-old bicyclist allowed deputies to search him.

In the brim of his hat, investigators reported finding “a white powdery substance” in cellophane cigarette packaging.

The bicyclist said he was unaware of the items in his hat.

A hat is a garment that covers the head, often with a brim and crown, and in many cases is worn outside. The types of hats are numerous, and include the top hat, Stetson, baseball cap, bowler, fedora, deerstalker, trilby, Panama hat, beanie, pork pie, stovepipe, boonie hat and bucket hat.

A hat is not to be confused with a helmet, which also covers the head but is designed to protect the head from injury whereas a hat serves as more of a fashion accessory.

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Famous hats in fiction include the fedora worn by actor Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones series of movies, the deerstalker of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and Gene Hackman’s pork pie hat worn by his character, Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, in The French Connection.

Meanwhile, the powder in the bicyclist’s hat, the style of which was not identified, tested positive for cocaine.

He said it wasn’t his, and he also said it “definitely” wasn’t cocaine.

Deputies evidently didn’t tip their hat to the bicyclist.

Instead, they arrested him and took him to jail.