CHESTERTOWN — A Tolchester area man who fled police at a high rate of speed after allegedly making a drug sale in Chestertown is being held in the Kent County Detention Center without bond pending a preliminary hearing next month.
De’Airres Tyler Somerville, 36, is charged with multiple drug- and gun-related crimes as well as traffic offenses that include driving 100 mph in a posted 40-mph zone, aggressive driving and driving on a suspended license.
Ultimately he was apprehended in the Pomona area after crashing his vehicle into a utility pole and fleeing on foot.
All of this transpired on Monday, Sept. 16.
During the last several weeks, the Kent County Narcotics Task Force had received numerous citizen complaints and tips regarding suspected illegal drug activity in the area of the Chestertown branch of the Kent County Public Library, according to a news release from the task force.
At about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 16, KCNTF officers observed a man identified as Somerville in a maroon 2003 Chevy Silverado allegedly distributing controlled dangerous substances from the Calvert Street rear parking lot of the library.
A uniformed Chestertown Police Department officer attempted to stop the Chevy Silverado for a traffic violation as it pulled out of the parking lot and eventually traveled onto Quaker Neck Road in the area of Landing Lane.
The vehicle failed to stop for the officer and continued to travel down Quaker Neck Road in a “reckless manner,” according to the news release.
A short period of time later it was learned that the vehicle had traveled off the roadway in the area of Quaker Neck Road and Pomona Road and sustained disabling damage after colliding with a pole.
Somerville and two other occupants of the vehicle, both of Chestertown, fled on foot.
Patrol units from the Chestertown Police Department, Maryland State Police and Kent County Sheriff’s Office, K-9 units from the CPD and the state police, and an MSP helicopter responded to the location to search for the subjects, who were located nearby.
According to the news release, police seized the following: 23.5 grams of suspected fentanyl, 40 gel capsules packaged for street level sale; 17.0 grams of suspected cocaine; a 9mm handgun and 11 live rounds of ammunition; and $330 in U.S. currency suspected to be proceeds of drug sales.
Somerville was arrested on felony drug charges that include possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute in a school zone; Garnet Elementary School is located within 1,000 feet of the rear parking lot of the Chestertown library.
He also was charged with having a loaded handgun in a vehicle and a firearm drug trafficking crime, among other crimes.
A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 7 in the District Court for Kent County. At that time, a judge will determine if there is probable cause to believe that Somerville committed the offenses.
Charges may be pending for the other two occupants of the vehicle, according to the news release.
The Kent County Narcotics Task Force is a cooperative enforcement effort between the Maryland State Police, Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Chestertown Police Department, Rock Hall Police Department, Office of the Kent County State’s Attorney and the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
Suspected drug activity can be reported to the task force by calling 410-778-3744. Callers may remain anonymous.