by BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post
MANHATTAN - On Thursday morning, just before 3:00 am, an officer with the Riley County Police Department attempted to initiate a traffic stop, when the driver of the vehicle fled the area.
The vehicle was initially being stopped for an issue with the license plate/tag.
The officer pursued the vehicle from a distance, following the taillights, the officer located the empty vehicle in the 1300 block of N. 11th Street.
Officers then searched the route taken by the vehicle, and located a black backpack in the roadway. The backpack contained identification, along with substances that tested positive for methamphetamines as well as other substances suspected to be Fentanyl.
Just after 3:00 am, a stolen vehicle report was called in to the Riley County Dispatch Center, reporting the same vehicle involved in the flee and elude had been stolen.
Michael Curtis Skillern-Lewis reported his vehicle had been stolen.
Skillern-Lewis' identification was located within the black backpack found by officers containing illegal substances.
RCPD officers arrested Skillern-Lewis on probable cause offenses of distribution of heroin/certain substances > 100 grams, flee or attempt to elude, distribution of opiate/opium/narcotic/ certain stimulant 100 grams - < 1 kilogram, and distribute/ possess with the intent to distribute/manufacture.
Total bond was set at $85,000. Skillern-Lewis remains confined to the Riley County Jail at the time of the release on Friday, May 17th.