By Susan Szalewski, Staff Writer
Omaha World-Herald
An Omaha man was barely in police custody in Ashland, Neb., when he escaped, handcuffed, from a police cruiser Sunday evening, the Ashland police chief said.
The man ran away while a woman he was with was being placed in another cruiser, said Ashland Police Chief Mark Powell.
The couple had been pulled over in a traffic stop. After a police dog smelled drugs, officers found a fist-size package of methamphetamine and two weapons in the car, Powell said.
The Saunders County Sheriff’s Office, the Nebraska State Patrol and the Omaha police helicopter were brought in to help find the suspect. Ashland police, with the help of a police dog, later found the man hiding in a bush at 16th and Ash Streets, about a quarter-mile from where he had been pulled over, Powell said.
The man and woman were arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute the drug, carrying concealed weapons and child neglect.
Two young children were in the car with the couple. The man also could face escape charges.
Copyright 2006 The Omaha World-Herald Company