ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — LaDarrell Antwain Mashburn Sr., 47, was arrested on drug trafficking charges during an investigation into an Asheville hit-and-run. Mashburn was a passenger in the vehicle whose driver allegedly caused the incident. The driver, Tania Lashae Conley, 29, fled on foot and has not been arrested.
Around 7:36 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, Asheville Police Department officers responded to a motor vehicle crash in the 200 block of Emma Road. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a vehicle with front-end damage. The driver of the damaged vehicle said that another vehicle had swerved into his lane and caused the crash before fleeing on foot. Conley was determined to be the suspected driver of the second vehicle, in which Mashburn was a passenger.
As officers investigated the incident, Mashburn, a convicted felon, was found to be in possession of 6.82 grams of fentanyl, 3.28 grams of crack cocaine and a 9mm Taurus firearm.
Mashburn was taken into custody without incident and charged with two felony counts of trafficking in fentanyl, one felony count of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver, one felony count of possession of schedule II, one felony count of possession of firearm by felon, one misdemeanor count of carrying concealed weapon, one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana up to 0.5 oz and one misdemeanor count of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility under no bond and without eligibility for release.
Rick Rice, APD public information officer, said that no serious injuries were caused by the accident.
“[The first driver] did not get any medical assistance. Nobody was injured except the guy that actually had all the drugs on him, and it was a minor injury and he was treated and released,” said Rice. “There was no real injury to speak of.”
Conley is still on the run, but Rice said that police do not consider her a threat.
“You don’t look at her as some sort of dangerous felon or nothing like that,” Rice said. “I’m sure she will show up on someone else’s radar sooner or later.”
Conley was charged with one misdemeanor count of hit-and-run, one misdemeanor count of reckless driving, one count of failure to maintain lane, one misdemeanor count of open container and one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana up to 0.5 oz.
“If you have any information about this incident, please contact APD at (828) 252-1110,” APD said. “You can also send an anonymous tip using the TIP2APD smartphone application (search “Asheville PD” in your app store) or by texting TIP2APD to 847411.”