Police shooting, chase sparked by drug bust gone wrong

Police shooting, chase sparked by drug bust gone wrong
ST. PETERSBURG -- This afternoon's officer-related shooting and high-speed pursuit started with an undercover drug bust gone wrong, police said. Two undercover St. Petersburg detectives were supposed to buy drugs from the suspects in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 3501 34th St. S at 1:14 p.m., according to police.

Instead, police said the suspects robbed the detectives of an unknown amount of money. The detectives then fired on the suspects as they fled. No one was injured in the shooting, which is now under investigation.

After the gunshots, the suspects took off in a blue Suzuki, with both undercover and patrol units following.

Moments later, off duty police Officer Stephen Mathews, who had heard about the incident over the radio, rammed a dark SUV he saw leave nearby Lakewood Estates at Country Club Way and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street S.

But there was a twist. The SUV Matthews hit turned out to be a undercover vehicle, not the suspect's. The two officers inside - and the officer who rammed his cruiser into them, were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released, according to the department.

Meanwhile, a second cruiser, driven by Officer Barry Books, tracked down the suspects a few blocks away in a blue Suzuki, and officers took them into custody.

Two suspects, 21-year-old Antwan Marquis Britt and 20 year-old Christopher Jerome Toliver, (pictured left) were arrested in the 700 block of 42nd Avenue S.

Britt was arrested on charges of armed robbery and felon firearm possession and Toliver was arrested on charges of armed robbery, sale and possession of cocaine and attempted sale and possession of a counterfeit drug.

A third suspect, whose name is being withheld, is a witness, police said.

The names of the detectives involved in today's shooting will not be released because of their undercover status.
Link