A city man who was free on bail after his arrest earlier this year on drug charges sold cocaine to an informant and then led police on high-speed chases in South Scranton and West Scranton, investigators said.
Matthew Tighe, 44, was eventually taken into custody Wednesday evening after Lackawanna County detectives say he abandoned his SUV in the Keyser Valley section and attempted to flee on foot.
Tighe, of 2308 Pond Ave., was held in the county prison on $350,000 bail after his arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Laura Turlip on a long list of charges, including possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and fleeing or eluding police.
Tighe was originally arrested Jan. 12 on cocaine- and marijuana-related charges after a nearly month-long investigation by state police vice investigators and county detectives.
Online records indicate he was released from the county jail Jan. 19 after posting $150,000 bail through a bail bondsman. He waived his preliminary hearing Feb. 13, moving his case to county court for possible trial.
According to an arrest affidavit filed by county detectives, investigators learned Tighe was still selling cocaine and worked with a confidential informant to purchase drugs from him Wednesday at a location in South Scranton.
After sale was complete, investigators attempted to make a traffic stop on Tighe’s Dodge Durango, but he fled, recklessly passing other motorists and failing to yield at intersections, the affidavit said. Investigators eventually ended their pursuit.
State police units later located the Durango on Main Avenue, and Tighe once again took off, leading officers on a high-speed chase through the St. Ann’s section, detectives said. He struck another vehicle near St. Ann Street and Parrott Avenue before continuing to Keyser Avenue.
Tighe pulled into a parking lot in the 1500 block of North Keyser, where he left his left his vehicle, scaled a chain link fence and started running toward Wood Street, the affidavit said. City police officers took him into custody near Wood and Keyser.
Additional cocaine was found during a later search of his SUV, investigators said.
Tighe’s preliminary hearing was set for Thursday at 11:30 a.m.