Short pursuit ends in crash after Modesto police witness suspected drug deal
A short police pursuit ended in a crash near downtown Modesto Thursday morning after officers observed a suspected drug deal behind a McHenry Avenue business.
The department’s “Crime Reduction Team observed a subject make what appeared to be a drug exchange transaction behind” the Tiki Lounge just before 9 a.m., said spokeswoman Sharon Bear.
Upon seeing the officers, one of the suspects got in a Toyota 4Runner and headed south on McHenry.
Officers followed as he headed east on Morris Avenue and initiated a traffic stop when he began running stop signs, Bear said.
The suspect failed to yield to officer lights and sirens and a pursuit ensued, but it ended moments later when the 4Runner ran a stop sign at Bodem Street and hit a GMC pickup, driven by Philip Franklin.
The impact knocked the pickup onto its side.
Both Franklin and the suspect in the 4Runner, identified as 41-year-old Jason Robison, suffered minor injuries.
Robison was taken to a Modesto hospital to be medically cleared before he is booked on suspicion of felony evading and other charges, Bear said.
This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 9:54 AM.
