PD: Drugs found in woods after man flees from traffic stop on Cross Valley
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police arrested a man after they say he fled from officers during a traffic stop on the Cross Valley, abandoning drugs in the woods.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, on Thursday a trooper began following a car with tinted windows down the Cross Valley before pulling over the driver, later identified as Malik Monroe, 43, from New Jersey.
Police say when the trooper approached the car the smell of marijuana was evident and Monroe was asked to exit the vehicle to pat down. The trooper said he noticed a “bulge” near Monroe’s waist/groin area and when asked about it Monroe “tensed up and began to reach in that area.”
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As stated in the affidavit, the trooper began to place Monroe’s hands behind his back when a struggle ensued and Monroe knocked out a Taser from the trooper’s hand. Monroe then was able to run into woods but other responding troopers were able to stop him on the side of the hill near a business, according to court documents.
A K9 unit was called to search the woods where Monroe had run off to and as a result, 53 glassine baggies of heroin/Fentanyl were found, police stated.
Monroe faces various drug charges, disarming law enforcement, resisting arrest, fleeing police, and assaulting officers.
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