Fugitive from Maryland arrested in traffic stop
A Berkeley Springs woman was arrested for being a fugitive from justice last Friday afternoon, April 27, after a traffic stop on Harrison Avenue.
Brenda Lee Belanger, 41, of Betty Lane, was arrested after Corporal Craig Pearrell tried to stop her when he noticed that her brown Lincoln Town Car had no inspection sticker, according to Bath Police Chief James Minton.
Belanger's vehicle took off up Harrison Avenue at a high rate of speed. The vehicle made a left turn off of Harrison Avenue into a tire company parking lot, said Minton.
As Pearrell caught up to the vehicle, two male suspects jumped out, ran to another vehicle in the lot and fled the scene. Pearrell called for backup and gave the backup officer the description of the vehicle that left the area.
Pearrell approached the Lincoln and asked Belanger for her license and registration, which she could not produce.
Pearrell ran a check and learned that Belanger did not have a driver's license, according to police. He also learned that she was wanted as a Fugitive from Justice in Frederick County, Md. for fraudulent prescriptions.
Pearrell also found that the Lincoln's plates actually belonged on a Nissan.
Pearrell did a K-9 search of the vehicle and the dog allegedly turned up suspected illegal drugs and paraphernalia.
Belanger is currently in the Eastern Regional Jail on the fugitive warrant, with other charges pending.
The vehicle that fled the scene was not apprehended and an investigation is ongoing.
