Wild Police Chase Has Unusual End
Two Binghamton men were in custody and facing drug charges Thursday after fleeing police and hiding out in a nursing home and Bible college in Johnson City.
About 11:30 a.m., Special Investigative Units from the Binghamton Police Bureau and state police, armed with a search warrant, attempted to stop a Nissan Ultima near West End Avenue. The vehicle, occupied by Jermaine D. Cooper, 26 of 160 West End Ave., Apt. 1, and Gerald J. Graven, 39, of 102 Liberty St., stopped initially and then took off, said State Police Senior Investigator Patrick J. Brady.
Graven, the driver, led several police vehicles on a short, high-speed chase through residential streets in the West End area. During their flight, police say the men threw more than three ounces of crack cocaine out the car window and headed west on Riverside Drive. The vehicle sought eventually was abandoned by Graven and Cooper. The suspects then fled in separate directions, one into the Baptist Bible College and one into a near by nursing home. Police surrounded the area and police dogs were called in to assist. K-9 Brando tracked one suspect to the nursing home, while K-9 Vago searched the Bible College. K-9 Vago apprehended Cooper who was hiding in a dormitory room behind a dresser. Graven was apprehended in the nursing home where Brando had tracked him to. Both men were held in Binghamton lock-up pending the felony arraignment on drug charges.