A Michigan City man was arrested Tuesday for dealing cocaine after fleeing from police on foot, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said.
Tuesday afternoon an Interdiction Deputy was working the Domestic Highway Enforcement (DHE) Program along I-94. The deputy was monitoring eastbound traffic near the 29-mile marker when he observed a red passenger vehicle traveling in the outside lane following a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) too closely. The deputy exited the median and began to travel behind the passenger vehicle. In the area of the 33 and 34-mile markers, the passenger vehicle continued to follow the CMV too closely through the construction zone.
The deputy initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle, which stopped on U.S. 421 south of County Road 400 North. The driver identified himself as 45-year-old Donyell Mayhew of Michigan City.
A Michigan City Police Department Officer arrived to assist. A narcotics K-9 was deployed around the exterior of the vehicle for a free-air sniff to which a positive alert was provided.
While the vehicle was being searched, Mayhew fled on foot, police said. He was apprehended a short distance away. When the vehicle search resumed, the deputy located two bags of a white compressed substance.
Mayhew was arrested for dealing in cocaine. He remains housed in the La Porte County Jail and is being held without bond.