BELLOWS FALLS — A 27-year-old man from Massachusetts will face multiple charges following an incident that began in Westminster.
On September 29, a deputy with the Windham County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle for speeding on I-91 at around 11: 10 p.m.
Police say the vehicle fled from the deputy upon exiting his cruiser at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle drove in a grossly negligent manner and continued into the Village of Bellows Falls where officers from the Bellows Falls Police and Windham County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop the vehicle.
The vehicle stopped after turning onto I-91 Access Road where the driver, identified as Bill D. Japakih, fled on foot into a nearby wooded area.
He was taken into custody by officers.
The deputy located a backpack that Japakih had removed from the vehicle in a nearby area.
A later search yielded just under 1 kilogram of cocaine and approximately 2,400 bags of suspected fentanyl.
The Windham County Sheriff’s Office is charging Japakih with trafficking fentanyl, trafficking cocaine, and transportation into the state.
BFPD is charging Japakih with attempting to elude, gross negligent operation, resisting arrest, excessive speed, and false information to police.
Japakih was held at the Southern State Correctional Facility.
