Tyler Perry Androscoggin County Jail
TURNER — U.S. marshals on Thursday captured a Rhode Island man accused of fleeing from police Feb. 17 in an incident during which two officers were dragged a short distance by a speeding car.
Police in Burrillville, Rhode Island, had been searching for 29-year-old Tyler Perry of Woonsocket with warrants charging him with two counts of felony assault and charges of reckless driving, possession of narcotics, obstruction and disorderly conduct stemming from the encounter in February.
On Thursday, agents from the U.S. Marshals Service Maine Violent Offender Task Force tracked Perry to Turner where, with the help of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, he was arrested without incident.
Police said that on the night of Feb. 17, police in Burrillville pulled over the driver of a car for speeding. Shortly after the stop, police learned that the driver, identified as Perry, was driving without a license in a car that was not registered. Investigators also said Perry attempted to discard a quantity of suspected narcotics, believed to be cocaine or fentanyl.
While still sitting in the Buick sedan, Perry became combative with the officers and resisted being arrested, police said. He then shifted the car into drive as the vehicle was being hooked up to a tow truck while the officers attempted to remove him from the vehicle.
Police said Perry sped off, dragging the officers for a short distance and leaving them injured. Perry also nearly crashed into an oncoming car, investigators said.
Police in Burrillville searched Perry’s home but he was not found, and soon after, other departments were notified that their suspect was on the run.
Police in Rhode Island notified the Marshals Service in Maine that Perry may be hiding in New Portland in Somerset County.
On Thursday afternoon, members of the Violent Offender Task Force learned that Perry was the passenger in a car riding through Turner. They followed the vehicle and eventually stopped it on Route 4, where Perry was arrested.
He was being held without bail at the county jail in Auburn on Friday.
It is expected Perry will be arraigned in Maine pending his extradition back to Rhode Island.
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