Drug bust went bad and an innocent person died.

Drug bust went bad and an innocent person died.

Pinellas Park Police was conducting a drug bust when things went wrong. The police said they were conducting a drug bust when they bought crack cocaine from Rashane Barber, 21, and Devonta Merriex, 20.

When the police attempted to arrest the suspects they fled. The suspects were able to get into there get away car and fled the scene. They crashed into Nachenga Robinson, 32, a mother of three.
Her children are 8, 11 and 13.

Shortly after they fled there was a crash. The suspects crashed into Nachenga Robinson, 32, a mother of three. Her children are 8, 11 and 13. Robinson was killed instantly in the crash.

Both suspects once again attempted to flee the scene after the crash. Police were on the scene quickly and was able to track them down and arrest them shortly after the crash.

Two teenagers witnessed the crash and they said "We could tell right off the bat that someone had died because horn was blowing and everything,"
Now the question was asked if this crash was related to a police pursuit and the official response from the police department was, there was no chase by police. No high speed chase took place when the suspects fled the scene from the drug bust.
However, the witnesses said police were on the scene within seconds of the crash. One witness was reported to have said he refused to go on camera but said officers were on the scene within seconds and making arrest.
The police department responded by saying that since there were many officers in the area that could explain the rapid response and on scene time by the police department.
One of the witnesses said "We saw a lot of cops show up as soon as it happened so were pretty sure they were following them.”
Police responded by saying "The location of the crash in relation to the location of drug transaction is only a couple of blocks; we had numerous personnel on the scene in the area.”
Barber has been arrested at least six times according to jail records. Merriex also has a criminal history.

Barber Arrest Report according to the Sheriff's site

Merriex arrest report accoring to the Sheriff's site


So the question of the hour is did police actually have a drug bust planned and just let the suspects leave the scene?

Did they actually pursue the suspects?

On a side note, I strongly support the right of officers to pursue suspects. If anyone should be held accountable for the death of an innocent woman, it should be the suspects. If someone is stupid enough to run from the police they should suffer severe consequences and be held accountable for their actions.