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Police in Altoona say a drug deal was broken up by uniformed officers responding to a noise complaint over the weekend.
It was just after 2 a.m. Saturday when Altoona police officers were dispatched to a home on the 1700 block of Fifth Street for a noise complaint and allegedly saw what looked like a drug deal.
According to court papers, when officers arrived they saw a red SUV with two women was parked, engines running and headlights on, outside the home with two men standing outside the passenger window. Police said Tareek Hemingway, 23, of 852 22nd St. was one of the two men and that he looked like he was holding something in his right fist. Hemingway allegedly put his right hand in his pocket when he saw the police and responding officers patted him down for weapons and was told to take his hand out of his pocket.
It was then that Hemingway started to run as police yelled for him to stop. He was taken into custody after leading cops on a foot chase down Fifth Street and attempting to run up a hill. Police said Hemingway struggled with officers but was ultimately handcuffed.
According to police, Hemingway had $160 in cash in his pocket, all in small denominations, as well as three cellphones. Police said Hemingway was empty handed when he was captured, but officers had seen him running with something his hand.
During his struggle with police, Hemingway lost a shoe and police said four small bags of suspected cocaine were found on the ground near the footwear.
When questioned about the suspected cocaine, hemingway said he’d never used cocaine in his life.
The red SUV drove off before police could make contact with the women inside, police noted.
Hemingway was arraigned Saturday morning by Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller on felony and misdemeanor drug charges, along with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. Hemingway was jailed after failing to post his $15,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19 at Central Court.