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Officers James Iandoli and Thomas Dichio were on patrol when they spotted Lamound Walker, 46, standing on the corner of East 26th and 10th Avenue with two other men around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said Thursday.
As they watched, Walker stuffed a plastic bag into his pants pocket that included several smaller bags and a “fully-wrapped white brick” of heroin, Speziale said.
Seeing them, a startled Walker “immediately clenched his front right pocket where he placed the plastic bag and began to walk West on 10th Avenue towards East 25th Street at a fast pace while he continuously looked back towards the officers,” the director said.
Iandoli and Dichio caught up to Walker, who “clenched his waistband” and started running south on East 25th Street, he said.
They chased Walker, orderly him to stop and calling for backups, Speziale said.
Walker then turned left into a driveway while tugging on what turned out to be a gun in his waistband, the director said.
The officers found Walker hiding behind an old refrigerator in a backyard and took him into custody after a brief struggle, he said.
Iandoli and Dichio pulled the bag, containing an “assortment” of illegal drugs, from Walker’s pocket and him carrying an empty, unzipped fanny pack around his waist, Speziale said.
With the help of K-9 Officer Robert Klein and his partner, Monty, they found a loaded Sig Sauer P320 semi-automatic 9mm handgun in the refrigerator, he said.
Altogether, Speziale said the officers found Walker carrying the heroin brick, along with:
- 18 Oxycodone pills
- 34 bags of crack
- 30 folds of heroin
- Five bags of pot
- the gun
- a 9mm 21-round magazine
- 9mm ball ammunition
They charged Walker with various drug and weapons offenses and sent him to the Passaic County Jail to await a first court appearance.
Walker previously served time for weapons possession in connection with a 2009 robbery that turned into a shootout with one of the victims, who was an undercover police officer.
A jury found Walker not guilty of attempted murder and armed robbery but convicted him of weapons offenses.
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ALSO SEE: A driver whose car struck a toddler in downtown Paterson eluded pursuing police on busy city streets Thursday afternoon before abandoning the vehicle, authorities said.
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