Editor’s note: This story has been edited since its initial publication.
ITHACA, N.Y. – A Freeville man was arrested on Aug. 4 after he fled from police during a sting he agreed to take part in.
Police say a 29-year-old-man agreed to take part in a narcotics investigation designed to catch a suspected narcotics trafficker in the area.
The particular situation the man was involved in was set up to listen in on an attempted controlled purchase of narcotics.
According to police, the man was given strict instructions to respond to a pre-arranged public location which was agreed upon with the suspected trafficker. Police say the man was also instructed to complete the narcotics transaction and respond back to the staged location organized by the officers involved.
The man was given $120 in cash, and was told to stay in a public area where police could easily surveil the situation.
Reports state the man failed to meet with the alleged trafficker, and instead fled the scene and ran between houses on Plain Street. Police say they attempted to make contact with the man despite negative results.
An electronic device used by the man during the attempted sting, valued at approximately $5,108.73, was found in a grassy walkway behind residences in the middle of the connecting block of South Plain Street and South Corn Street, court documents say. According to police, the device was intentionally discarded, and the cash was never recovered.
The man was charged with third-degree grand larceny, petit larceny, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree obstructing governmental administration. He was arraigned in Ithaca City Court and remanded to Tompkins County Court without bail.