CHARLTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — After a high speed car chase and a foot pursuit through Sturbridge Thursday afternoon, Massachusetts State Police apprehended two suspects who were allegedly trafficking cocaine into the state.
MSP said at around 1:20 p.m. Thursday, a Trooper attempted to stop a dark blue Honda Accord with a North Carolina registration for speeding on Route 84 eastbound in Sturbridge.
However police said the vehicle refused to stop and fled at "excessive speeds" while weaving in and out of traffic, at times driving up to approximately 130 mph, as well as up to 80 mph in a construction zone.
The Trooper advised police in surrounding towns to be on the lookout for the vehicle after it took Exit 3A onto Route 20 eastbound. Within about ten minutes, Charlton Police found the car and attempted to conduct a stop, but the driver again refused to stop and continued to flee until crashing on Route 20 at H. Putnam Road.
MSP said the two occupants of the vehicle fled on foot, but were quickly apprehended. A Trooper from the State Police K-9 Unit and his partner Kody responded to assist, searching for evidence along the route that the suspects’ ran after the crash.
While working through a backyard, MSP said Kody "pulled toward a shed and exhibited a change in behavior, sticking his nose through a large piece of rolled up garden edging and into a pile of leaves. He displayed an alert consistent with his training for the detection of narcotics."
After looking down into the area where Kody had alerted them, Troopers recovered a large cylindrical package wrapped in tape inside a condom. The package, which was recovered at the location where the female suspect had been apprehended, contained a substance believed to be cocaine. The total weight of the suspected cocaine was approximately 80 grams.
According to MSP, investigation revealed that the passenger, 23-year-old Shantia Crocker-Carter of New York City, was in possession of the cocaine while in the vehicle, and that it was intended for delivery from a source in New York City to a person in central Massachusetts. She was charged with trafficking in cocaine and disturbing the peace.
The driver, 25-year-old Blair Thornton, also of New York City, was charged with more than half a dozen offenses, including failure to stop for police, speeding, leaving the scene of a crash that caused property damage, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and disturbing the peace.
Thornton suffered minor injuries when he crashed the car and was transported to Harrington Hospital for treatment under police guard. Upon his release, he was transported to the Sturbridge Barracks, where he and Crocker-Carter were both booked. A bail clerk ordered each suspect held on $10,040 cash bail. They are expected to be arraigned in Dudley District Court.
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(Photo: Mass. State Police)