Police recover drugs in truck abandoned during chase

1/23/2006

Two men pulled over in Michigan yesterday in a truck carrying 40 pounds of marijuana fled into Ohio before abandoning their vehicle and escaping on foot, authorities said.

Erie Township police pulled over the full-size Ford pickup heading south on Suder Road just north of the state line about 12:30 p.m. for a routine traffic violation.

Chief William Hines said as soon as an officer got out of his car to approach the pickup, it sped off, fleeing down Suder into Ohio. The driver sped across Alexis Road, and into the back-road neighborhoods of Washington Township, driving across several lawns in the area.

One of the pickup's two occupants, both described only as black males in their 30s, jumped out at Mayport Drive and Angle Avenue. The driver pulled behind the old Kroger supermarket on Suder and ran.

A search of the truck bed revealed marijuana with a street value of about $120,000 stored in plastic containers, Chief Hines said.

After running the truck's license plate, which was registered to a woman in Georgia, officers found U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency warrants for cocaine possession for the woman and her boyfriend. Chief Hines said the truck was considered a "drug-delivery vehicle" by the DEA's Georgia office, and its occupants were considered armed and dangerous.

Last night, authorities continued to search for the suspects.