POUGHKEEPSIE – A suspected drug dealer attempted to evade arrest on Thursday when members of the Dutchess County Drug Task Force tried to take him into custody. The suspect fled in a car, pursued by members of the task force and City of Poughkeepsie Police. The incident started around 12:30 p.m.
The suspect, believed to be 32-year-old DuJuan Marshall, fled in a late-model BMW 4-series sedan. After a brief car chase, the suspect stopped on Brookside Avenue, exited the car, and fled on foot.
With police chasing him, Marshall jumped over the guide rail on Brookside, running in the weeds between the road and the Fallkill Creek. The suspect then accidentally plunged 20 feet to the dry creek bed, suffering a serious lower-leg injury in the process.
The Poughkeepsie Fire Department was dispatched to bring Ladder 1 to the scene to provide rigging to recover the injured alleged drug dealer. Using ropes and pulleys, firefighters and a medic were lowered down to triage the wound and prepare to hoist him out of the creek.
While Marshall was being treated, other detectives were searching under parked cars for evidence that Marshall may have thrown. As the suspect was being hoisted back up in a stokes basket, a tow truck was impounding the suspect’s BMW.
Mobile Life medics transported the man to Mid Hudson Regional Hospital, accompanied by a detective from the drug task force. Sources tell Mid Hudson News that Marshall was subsequently transferred to Westchester Medical Center for surgery to repair a shattered ankle. The surgery was scheduled to be performed around 5 p.m.
Police sources say that a search warrant had been executed at the suspect’s residence at 82 Rinaldi Boulevard early Thursday when the incident started. Detectives were still at the residence Thursday evening.
NEWS STORY PROVIDED BY: Mid Hudson News -www.midhudsonnews.com