GPD seizes #036;1,500 in crackfollowing disturbance call
Published 12:00 am Saturday, February 5, 2000
Greenville Police arrested a suspect on drug-related charges and seized $1500 in crack cocaine on January 29 after being called to investigate a complaint for loud and excessive noise on Fort Dale Road.
James Floyd Jenkins, a 31 year-old male of Dunbar Road, was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of
a controlled substance, resisting arrest and loud and excessive noise.
After receiving the call from a business about the excessive noise an officer noticed Jenkins sitting in a 1984 Chevrolet Caprice which was parked at a car wash. The officer noted that he could hear the radio as far away as 200 feet. As he approached the vehicle, the suspect got out and began to walk away.
The officer asked Jenkins to stop, at which point he began to walk faster and moments later he began to run as the officer told him he was under arrest.
During a brief chase that ensued, the suspect led the arresting officer through a fast-food restaurant, throwing chairs behind him to slow down the pursuer. After exiting the restaurant on the opposite side of his entry, Jenkins ran across several business parking lots including a pharmacy where the officer said he rolled carts in front of him in an attempt to slow him down. While crossing the pharmacy parking lot he saw the suspect throw a brown bottle onto the ground.
Jenkins continued to run and turned onto Manningham Road where he was caught and arrested by the officer.
After completing the arrest, the officer returned to the pharmacy parking lot and located the brown bottle that Jenkins had thrown during the chase. After testing the contents of the bottle it was determined to be crack cocaine valued at $1,500.
Jenkins was transported to the Butler County Jail. During a search of the suspect he was found to be in possession of $1,069 in currency which was confiscated by the police department. The suspect's vehicle, valued at $1,500, also was impounded.
Police Chief Lonzo Ingram said that law enforcement officers never know when a routine-type call will lead to an important arrest.
"This is a really good example of what can happen when police officers make an attempt to enforce a quality of life issue, in this case loud and excessive noise. There are many times that those incidents can lead to other criminal activities being uncovered," Ingram said.