Man swallows two bags of drugs and runs from police in Old Town

A 35-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after swallowing two bags of drugs and running away from police on foot through Old Town North.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 11, at around 9:15 p.m. Police were called regarding a bronze Toyota Camry with severe damage was “excessively changing lanes” before parking near the Harris Teeter at N. Saint Asaph Street and Madison Street.

Police drove to the area in time to see the Camry leave the area, and pulled the car over after seeing that the temporary paper tag on the rear of the car was illegible and damaged, police said in a search warrant.

The driver was later charged with a failure to show license plates, but it was the passenger that caught the attention of police. He avoided eye contact and was “sweating profusely on his face and head,” police said. “His speech was slurred, and he had a hard time forming a full sentence. On a couple of occasions, he seemed to doze off and almost fall asleep.”

While speaking with a slur and not able to complete sentences, the suspect then allegedly gave police a false name and said that he did not have an ID with him.

The passenger was taken out of the car and sat on the curb, where he fumbled with a phone and told police that he was trying to call people with his identifying information. The phone then turned off because of a low battery, and then the suspect fled from officers on foot.

The suspect rain about four flocks before he was apprehended by police. An ambulance then arrived at the scene, and the suspect told a medic that he’d taken fentanyl earlier, and was then given the anti-opioid Naxolone spray.

On the way to the hospital in the ambulance, the suspect vomited a “small yellow bag of brownish/white powder believed to be heroin or fentanyl.” The suspect then admitted to police that he’d swallowed two bags of drugs.

Police determined the suspect’s identity at the hospital, and found he was wanted for outstanding fail to appear warrants in Fairfax and Prince William Counties. He was charged with intent to distribute drugs, resisting arrest and giving police a false identity.