Police Chase Suspects, Net A Pound Of Meth

"Proactive patrolling" gets the credit for Wednesday's police pursuit that ended with the seizure of $145,000 worth of methamphetamine.

The action started around 11:30 a.m. as Officer Scott Fredricksen performed traffic enforcement on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. As a white Ford Explorer approached his patrol car near Hale Avenue, he flipped on his laser and clocked the SUV traveling 50 mph in a 30 mph zone, a report shows.

Fredricksen pulled out behind the SUV and turned on his emergency lights, but the SUV continued westbound. As the Explorer neared the Broad Street intersection, it swerved into the Taco Bell parking lot.

The escape attempt was cut short because a sergeant had already blocked off the exit with his patrol car. With nowhere to go, the driver, Brian Martin, and his passenger, Sedonnia Bass, jumped out of the SUV and slammed the doors shut - locking the keys inside, according to an arrest report.

Martin was asked for his license, which officers would soon discover had 17 active suspensions. The suspect was arrested on initial charges of fleeing to elude and driving on a suspended license.

On the way to the jail, Fredricksen got a phone call from his sergeant. They had searched the Explorer and found 614.9 grams of methamphetamine - well over a pound. Additionally, police say they recovered 10.8 grams of the prescription drug Vicodin, a gram of marijuana and an assortment of drug paraphernalia.

There was also a loaded handgun in the SUV, a report shows.

Martin, 25, was additionally charged with trafficking in drugs; Bass, 18, was similarly charged with trafficking, along with possession of a firearm while trafficking. Both live in New Port Richey.

Turner said Thursday about half of the meth was the much more potent variety called "ice." Meth is not a common drug in Hernando County, but the police chief said it's "kind of coming back."

Detectives are still determining whether the drugs were meant for local consumption and if the two suspects were the primary dealers.

Turner credits Fredricksen for his pro-active patrol.

"You got to shake that tree," he said.