NORRISTOWN >> A Pottstown man faces some time behind bars for his assaultive behavior with police during a drug investigation.
Nathan Rashoun Brown, 28, of the 300 block of North Hanover Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault of a police officer and possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine, marijuana or heroin in connection with a March 12, 2016, incident in the borough. Judge Gail A. Weilheimer also ordered Brown to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Brown will be under court supervision for about five years.
Brown is eligible for the jail’s work release program during his incarceration.
An investigation began about 6:18 p.m. when Pottstown police were dispatched to the 300 block of North Hanover Street for a report of a suspicious vehicle occupied by two males. When police made contact with the occupants of the vehicle they noticed multiple burnt marijuana cigarettes in the center console of the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
A 6-month-old child was in the backseat of the vehicle, police said.
The driver of the vehicle admitted to police that the cigarettes were indeed marijuana and he was taken into custody. Brown, a passenger in the vehicle, was asked by police to step out of the vehicle and then immediately tried to flee north on North Hanover Street, police alleged.
Police attempted to take Brown to the ground and during the struggle one police officer’s head struck the concrete and Brown refused to comply with police commands and continued to try to flee, according to the criminal complaint.
Brown kicked another officer in the knees and legs as he resisted being taken into custody, police said. Police then used a Taser to subdue Brown, court documents indicate.
When police searched Brown they found a clear bag that contained a green leafy substance, suspected marijuana, in his right pants pocket, according to the arrest affidavit. In Brown’s left pants pocket police found five bundles of suspected heroin and 18 small clear bags containing suspected crack cocaine, according to the criminal complaint.
Tests determined that the drugs were indeed marijuana, crack cocaine and heroin, police said.
One police officer was transported to Reading Hospital to be treated for injuries sustained during the struggle with Brown. The 6-month-old infant was removed from the vehicle and turned over to a relative, police said.
