Bystander aids police manhunt
Staff writer
Amid frigid January temperatures, a suspected drug violator led police chief Bruce Burke on a foot chase through Peabody last week.
Burke had stopped a vehicle Jan. 3 in which Richard Hill of Newton was an occupant. After issuing three tickets to the driver he confronted Hill on a Harvey County warrant after allegedly failing to appear in court on two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and one count of possessing a controlled substance.
Burke said Hill fled the vehicle on foot beginning a chase that eventually involved several other officers and lasted about 45 minutes.
Officers searched down alleyways and streets in the area and it seemed the search had ran cold until a bystander flagged an officer down and said Hill had run into a shed in the 800 block of Elm St.
Hill was found in the shed, arrested, and transported to the Harvey County line where he was transferred to a Harvey County police officer.
“We agencies trade info all the time,” Burke said. “We encourage citizens to assist in situations like this one, but some don’t want to get involved and that is understandable.”
The vehicle, which had not been involved in the chase, was later located near Hillsboro.