Three men were taken into custody after a foot chase Friday afternoon on the east side of Emporia. Two were arrested on drug charges and the third on charges of abetting a felony.
Emporia police had been called to check the welfare of a resident in an apartment complex in the 700 block of Sylvan Street. As they arrived in the area, they noticed two suspicious men walking south from the area, Police Sgt. Edward P. Owens said in a news release.
“The officers made a U-turn to contact the two ... males and they both took off running on foot,” Owens said.
The chase continued into the 400 block of Exchange Street, where police and sheriff’s deputies found one man hiding under an evergreen tree.
He was identified as Jon A. Buchanan Jr., 26, of 906 Cottonwood St. A second man and a third man were caught in the 10 block of South Exchange Street during a vehicle stop. They were identified as Eddie L. Graddick, 34, of 919 Sylvan Street and Raskia (Skeet) Q. Colbert, 30, 10 S. Mechanic St.
As officers backtracked the chase route, they found clothing, compact discs, crack cocaine and marijuana along the path taken by the two men in the 600 block of Cottonwood Street, Owen said.
Buchanan and Graddick face charges of possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell within 1000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana, and felony obstruction of justice. Colbert faces a charge of aiding and abetting a felony.