Chester deputy, retired from NYPD, nabs alleged meth trafficker after York cop chase
Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey has a saying: “A cop is always on duty.”
One of Dorsey’s deputies showed that Tuesday in York County. A suspect in a stolen car led police on a chase before an off-duty Chester reserve deputy whose vehicle was hit caught and held the suspect until officers in uniform could make the arrest, officials said.
And that arrest led to a major meth haul being taken off the street, reports show.
Chester County reserve deputy Malcolm Little, retired from the NYPD in New York City, was key in York County deputies arresting suspect Carlos DeMichael Bright after the rush-hour chase on Celanese Road around 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to Dorsey and York County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
Little was the driver of one of four vehicles that Bright allegedly struck after driving the wrong way on Celanese Road as York County deputies pursued Bright, said Trent Faris spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Bright was driving a car reported stolen minutes earlier to the Rock Hill Police Department, Faris said.
Deputies saw the stolen car on Celanese Road and pulled over the car at a gas station, according to York County sheriff incident reports. But the car then pulled back onto Celanese Road headed toward Interstate 77, the incident report stated. The car fled in the middle emergency lane of Celanese Road before the car was driven the wrong way into oncoming traffic, deputies said. The car hit four other vehicles on Celanese Road before it wrecked, the report stated.
A crash victim and a police officer
One of those vehicles that was hit belonged to Little, the Chester deputy and retired New York City cop, Dorsey said.
The driver fled on foot to the I-77 exit ramp before Little chased the driver down and tackled the suspect, said Faris of the York County sheriff’s office. Little held the suspect at gunpoint until York County deputies could take the driver into custody, the York County incident report showed
Dorsey, the Chester County Sheriff, praised Little’s actions.
“Deputy Little secured the suspect even after Little’s own personal vehicle had been damaged by the same suspect,” Dorsey said. “ A cop is always on duty, really — even when he is off duty.”
The suspect was then identified as Bright, 28, of Charlotte, according to York County incident reports and jail records.
Drugs found inside the car
When Bright was taken to a hospital to determine whether he had any injuries, deputies found 22 grams of methamphetamine in his sock, according to the incident report.
Bright is charged in York County with felony meth trafficking, failure to stop for a blue light, resisting arrest, and threatening a public official, records show.
The drug trafficking charge carries as much as 10 years in prison, South Carolina law shows.
Bright remains in the York County Jail .
Bright is also charged by Rock Hill police with felony grand larceny involving the stolen car, said Lt. Michael Chavis of the Rock Hill Police Department.
Master Trooper Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol said troopers are investigating the crashes into the four vehicles that happened while the suspect was driving the stolen car. That investigation remains ongoing, Miller said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Chester deputy, retired from NYPD, nabs alleged meth trafficker after York cop chase."
