Alleged Drug Dealer Busted After Chase

FOR THE RECORD: Friday, October 27, 1995 CORRECTION: Calvin Payne, 36, has no record of being a former Los Angeles gang member. Spokane police incorrectly identified him as such in a story that appeared Thursday. Payne’s partner, Robert Brown, 25, was a gang member in California, police said.

Spokane police detectives sped after an alleged drug dealer Wednesday in a midday chase that left at least a half-dozen cars smashed and strewn along streets from East Central to the North Side.

No one was injured.

Robert Brown, 25, was arrested for possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and booked into Spokane County Jail. His partner, Calvin Payne, 36, later was arrested on the same charge.

Police said Payne was acting as a courier when he flew into Spokane on Wednesday from Southern California with nearly 10 ounces of crack cocaine. Detectives at the airport watched Payne take a cab to his house at 720 N. Perry.

More undercover cops were watching Brown’s house on East 10th, said Lt. Steve Braun, who oversees the department’s drug unit. They followed Brown to Payne’s house, where they believe he picked up the new delivery of crack.

Officers then followed Brown to North Helena, where they tried to get him to pull over. Instead, Brown sped away in his white Buick and two detectives gave chase in their unmarked cars, Braun said.

The pursuit reached speeds of nearly 70 mph, with all three cars whipping through residential streets, Interstate 90 and lunch-hour traffic downtown.

At Sprague and Helena, Brown forced one of the detectives out of his lane, and the officer collided head-on with another car.

Brown’s Buick crashed into several other cars before Braun called off the chase about 12:30 p.m. By that time, at least seven patrol cars had joined the pursuit.

“We knew who he was and where he was from,” Braun said. “I thought it was getting too dangerous.”

A short time later, police spotted Brown’s car - with its “Big Rob and Tanya, Together Forever” license plate frame - near Sharp and Monroe. He was arrested without incident, Braun said, and Payne was arrested later at his house.

During the pursuit, police said Brown drove through an alley in the 1700 block of East Fourth and threw a package from his car into someone’s yard. Nearly 10 ounces of crack cocaine were inside.

Braun said the crack was divided into about 30 quarter-ounce pieces, with a street value of more than $10,000.

Brown has a lengthy police record that includes 13 convictions for drug charges and probation violations. He has been arrested 33 times.

He likely will face additional charges of felony hit and run and eluding police for Wednesday’s incident, Braun said.

Payne has only one arrest in Spokane, for felony possession of drugs. Police said he is a former gang member from Los Angeles, where he has been convicted of possession of a dangerous weapon.

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