A brief bid for freedom came to an end for an alleged heroin dealer who pulled off an impressive escape after being arrested by NYPD narcotics detectives on Monday night in Queens. Bryan McMenamin, 38, was handcuffed in the back of an unmarked police car, along with another suspect, when the detectives pulled over and exited the vehicle for unspecified reasons. McMenamin seized that opportunity to somehow yank his handcuffed wrists from behind his back to the front of his body, jump into the driver's seat, and speed off, running into one of the detectives in the process.
Police soon found the car, with the other suspect still inside, less than a mile away from the Ridgewood corner where the pair had been arrested. But McMenamin was MIA, and remained at large until yesterday afternoon, when police say he was apprehended inside of an apartment at 15 Saint James Place in Lower Manhattan. The Times reports that police received a tip that a man matching his description was spotted in the area.
At the time of his arrest, McMenamin was no longer wearing the handcuffs. Now he faces a slew of charges, including Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Attempted Murder 2 (for driving into the arresting officer, who sustained a leg injury), Grand Larceny, Tampering with Evidence, Escape, and Resisting Arrest.
"He’s a good guy, I don’t know, he might’ve gotten caught up in something bad," a friend of McMenamin tells CBS 2. "I just hope he’s all right. I know one thing - he ain’t violent."
