RANTOUL — A Rantoul man who was chased by police officers Sunday following a traffic stop is being held at the Champaign County Jail on $50,000 bond.
Dean Graves, 28, who listed an address in Rantoul, pleaded innocent on Monday to unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and resisting a police officer.
According to Rantoul Police Chief Paul Farber, Graves was driving a car at the intersection of U.S. 136 and Maplewood Drive, Rantoul, at 1:45 p.m. Sunday. As he turned south onto Maplewood Drive, a police officer pulled him over for a traffic violation.
Before the officer could approach the car, Farber said, Graves jumped from the vehicle and ran across Maplewood Drive into the Keystone neighborhood.
As the police officer ran after him, the officer saw Graves throw off his coat and gloves and dropped other items as he ran away, according to a police report.
Other officers joined in the pursuit, and Graves was arrested in the 200 block of Keystone Drive.
Retracing Graves' path, police recovered a bag holding seven individually packaged smaller bags containing a total of 4 grams of suspected crack cocaine and another bag containing 7 grams of a white powdered substance suspected to be powdered cocaine, Farber said.
Judge Richard Klaus set Graves' next court appearance for March 20.
