A Middletown man was allegedly found with “large quantities” of narcotics on Christmas after he is accused of dragging a police officer from a vehicle in Rocky Hill and leading troopers on a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 91, which ended with a trooper’s cruiser being struck.
The police officer with the Rocky Hill Police Department was allegedly dragged during an attempted stop in the early morning hours, according to Connecticut State Police.
Troopers who assisted in looking for the black Ford Edge tied to the incident spotted the vehicle shortly before 2:30 a.m. as it got onto I-91/Route 5 and 15 from Exit 27 in Hartford, state police said. Police tried to pull the vehicle over but the driver accelerated to more than 100 mph while leading troopers through multiple exits and briefly onto other streets before repeatedly getting back onto I-91, according to state police.
At one point, the driver turned his headlights off and allegedly went “erratically” across multiple lanes, appearing to intentionally steer toward pursuing cruisers, state police said. Troopers deployed stop sticks and were able to puncture one of the vehicle’s tires, allowing the driver to continue north until slowing down on the Exit 28 ramp, according to state police.
At the exit, state police said they conducted a controlled box-in to stop the vehicle, at which point the driver is accused of intentionally striking a cruiser, disabling it, state police said. The driver was then taken into custody and identified as 46-year-old Tyshawn Jermiane Adams, according to state police.
Troopers found that he had a warrant out for his arrest charging him with violation of probation. A search of Adams and the vehicle allegedly turned up “large quantities” of fentanyl, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and materials commonly used in narcotics distribution, including manufacturing and packaging materials, state police said. Adams allegedly showed “clear signs” of impairment and admitted to using multiple drugs before getting behind the wheel, according to state police.
State police said Adams told troopers he believed they would stop pursuing him once he went over 100 mph. He was arrested on charges of operating a drug factory, reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, engaging police in pursuit, operating under the influence, failure to drive in the proper lane, sale of a narcotic substance, possession of a controlled substance and interfering with an officer.
Adams was held on a $100,000 bond and was expected to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Friday.