An island man was arraigned in Nantucket District Court on Monday for allegedly throwing a bag of cocaine out of his car during a police chase down Miacomet Road.
Garry Sanders, 44, of Nantucket, was arraigned on Dec. 26 charges of possessing a class B drug, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, littering, and failure to stop for police. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and is being held in the Barnstable House of Corrections. Sanders next court date is a pretrial hearing on February 10.
According to the statement of facts provided by the court, Sergeant Kevin Marshall was on patrol in the Miacomet Road and Miacomet Beach parking lot when he saw Sanders driving his vehicle in an erratic and negligent manner.
Marshall said he saw Sanders drift into the opposite lane of travel and saw him traveling above the speed limit in areas where only one car can pass through the road due to overgrown brush on both sides of the roadway. Marshall said if another car had been driving towards Sanders in the opposite lane, the driver would have collided with Sanders head on.
Marshall saw Sanders throw items out of his window on two occasions during the chase and followed Sanders for over two miles despite initiating his lights. Sanders did not stop until another cruiser turned onto Miacomet Road from Surfside Road to block the road and stop Sanders.
Marshall said Sanders was immediately cuffed. Police recovered the two items following the arrest. One item was a corner cut baggie of what Marshall said was cocaine through his training and experience. The other was an empty sandwich bag.
Sanders was wearing an ankle bracelet when he was arrested and violated his probation he was serving on a separate domestic violence charge with this new arrest.
The District Attorney’s Office requested Nantucket District Court Judge Thomas S. Barrett to revoke Sanders bail. Barrett took the matter under advisement, which means Barrett will think about the state’s request and make a decision at a later date.
In other Nantucket District Court news this week, after being continued without a finding for one year, Michael Ciempa, 45, of Adams, had a Feb. 6, 2019 charge of assault and battery dismissed.
