On August 6, 2020, at about 12:12 Thursday morning, a Newark Police Officer was on patrol on South College Avenue near West Chestnut Hill Road. The officer observed a vehicle swerving on the roadway and improperly changing lanes, causing another vehicle to have to brake abruptly to avoid a collision. The vehicle then fled at a high rate of speed on Christina Parkway, to Elkton Road and then East Delaware Avenue.
The officer caught up with the vehicle and began to contact the operator on South Chapel Street. As the officer exited his vehicle, the vehicle fled again, striking a curb as it fled, according to police. The vehicle was found unoccupied a short time later off of South Chapel Street. Other Newark Police Officers located the operator exiting from a wooded area off of South Chapel Street. He was taken into custody without incident and was later identified as Kahil Crawford, 30, of New Castle.
A K-9 from the New Castle County Police Department arrived to assist and alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle was later conducted pursuant to a search warrant issued by Justice of the Peace Court #11. During the search, officers found a fully loaded handgun, along with various amounts of crack cocaine, MDMA, and drug paraphernalia, officials said Thursday.
Crawford was transported to Newark Police headquarters where he was charged with:
Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited
Possession With Intent to Deliver Crack Cocaine
Possession With Intent to Deliver MDMA
Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon
Disregarding a Police Officer Signal
Possession of a Firearm While Under the Influence
Driving a Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol
Multiple other traffic offenses
Crawford appeared before Justice of the Peace Court #11 by video and was ordered to be held in default of $44,000 secured bail. Crawford was turned over to the custody of the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington.
