A teenager who allegedly ran down four Allentown police officers as he escaped a drug bust in the fall was arrested this weekend, after he again tried to elude police by driving through an Allentown detective, according to court records.
Melvin R. Lopez, 18, with no current address, was arrested Sunday afternoon hiding out in a motel in Allentown, according to court records.
Two days earlier, police learned Lopez was in the 700 block of N. Kiowa Street and went to the area to arrest him on a Sept. 27 warrant, which charged him with striking four Allentown police officers with his car as he escaped a drug investigation at Seventh and Tilghman streets, according to court records.
Lopez again escaped from police on Friday by driving his car toward an Allentown detective, then driving over sidewalks and jumping fences as police chased after him, according to court records. Police located a witness who told them he had given Lopez a ride near the motel, police said.
According to a criminal complaint:
Police arrived N. Kiowa Street at 6:48 p.m. Friday after learning Lopez was in the area and was seen driving a silver car. Police spotted the car, kept a watch on it and saw Lopez and a girl enter the car.
Two detectives boxed in Lopez's car. One of the detectives got out with his gun drawn and his badge displayed. Lopez turned on his car and put it in reverse before driving straight toward the detective who dove out of the way to avoid being hit.
Lopez drove onto the sidewalks and front yards of homes and police chased him through several streets until he eventually crashed into a fence on the 800 block of N. Lacross Street. Lopez got out of his car, jumped a fence and ran through yards.
A patrol officer stopped Lopez told him to show his hands and get on the ground, but Lopez ignored the commands and put his hands to his waistband before jumping over another fence and escaping into an unknown direction.
An unidentified witness arrived to the scene a short time later and told police a man -- later identified as Lopez -- jumped into his car and asked him to drive him to the 700 block of Hanover Avenue. From there, police were able to track him to the Royal Motel on N. Irving Street, police said.
According to an earlier criminal complaint:
Allentown police were conducting a drug investigation at Seventh and Tilghman streets on Sept. 27. During the investigation, Lopez sold a confidential informant nine bags of heroin.
Police moved in to arrest Lopez while he was still in his car, but he accelerated, hitting four officers and ramming into a police cruiser. Lopez then drove on the sidewalk and abandoned his car after striking a parked car. As he fled on foot, police noticed he had a gun tucked in his waistband.
The four officers suffered minor injuries, police said.
Lopez is charged with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, child endangerment and fleeing or attempting to elude police. He was arraigned by District Judge Michael D'Amore and sent to Lehigh County Prison under $100,000 bail.
He was charged with four counts each of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment and one count each of possession of heroin, possession with intent to deliver heroin, fleeing or attempting to elude police and firearms not to be carried without a license. His bail in that case is $400,000.
Lopez is also charged in two other cases.
Copyright 2013 - The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
