FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A driver who led Fort Wayne Police on a speedy pursuit on the northeast side Wednesday was arrested after allegedly hitting an officer with a bag of cocaine.
And according to newly released Allen Superior Court documents, investigators at the scene also discovered fentanyl and more cocaine worth about $65,000 total.
Damarcus Thomas faces preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and fleeing in a vehicle, resisting law enforcement causing injury, battery committed with a deadly weapon, and two counts of dealing in cocaine or narcotic drugs.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, FWPD spotted a pickup truck that drove past a stop sign near Rothman and Reed roads. Officers initiated a traffic stop near St. Joe Center Road, but the truck driver didn’t pull over, instead starting a chase that reached more than 100 mph, according to a release from FWPD.
Eventually, the driver lost control near Stellhorn and Hobson roads, hitting a median, a curb and a tree, the release said.
The driver, later identified as Thomas, is then accused of getting out of the truck and physically fighting officers. He allegedly hit an officer in the face with a grocery bag, covering his face and uniform with a white, powdery substance that was released from the bag.
When Thomas was taken into custody, he allegedly told police the powdery substance was cocaine, which was confirmed by a field test of the substance, according to court documents.
Both the officer and suspect were treated at a hospital for minor injuries. According to court documents, the cocaine got in the officer’s eyes, mouth and nose.
“The defendant purposely exposed [the officer] to a potentially lethal dose of cocaine,” a detective wrote in court documents.
Investigators at the scene also found a tool bag with half a pound of fentanyl, and more cocaine in the truck weighing nearly 4.7 pounds.
Thomas was then taken to jail and later released, but he was arrested again Friday on separate gun charges.
