Hospital bag, hidden drugs, a foot chase, and a fugitive—this one has it all.
What started as an honest man doing the right thing turned into a tale worthy of a crime thriller—complete with a bag of crack, a loaded gun, and a suspect fleeing across a bridge.
A local man recently walked into the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office carrying a mysterious bag he said wasn’t his—and definitely wasn’t his wife’s either. What was inside? Enough to get someone locked up for a very long time.
🧨 Here’s how the story unfolded:
- The man said he found a blue and black St. Mary’s Hospital bag in the back of his truck on July 31st
- His wife works at the hospital, so he assumed it was hers and tossed it into the cab before heading out on vacation
- After returning home, curiosity got the best of him—he opened the bag
- Inside he found:
- A firearm
- Multiple bags of white powder, consistent with crack cocaine
- A wallet with ID and cards belonging to someone else
Instead of panicking, he did the right thing and brought it all straight to the Sheriff’s Office.
🔎 The Backstory Unfolds Like a Movie Script
The ID in the bag belonged to a man from Huntington, West Virginia. Deputies contacted Huntington PD, who said the man had just been arrested on July 30th, one day before the bag was found.
But here’s the kicker:
- Huntington PD said the suspect had run across the bridge on foot, chased by Chesapeake police
- During the chase, officers saw him toss a bag—but couldn’t locate it
- The description of the lost bag? It matched exactly the one now in evidence
- Chesapeake officers confirmed the man had brandished a firearm just before the chase began
💣 And There’s More…
A criminal history check revealed the man has prior felony and weapons charges, meaning he wasn’t legally allowed to possess a firearm at all.
🙌 Praise Where It’s Due
✅ Kudos to the citizen who turned in the bag—he could’ve ignored it or thrown it out but chose to do the right thing
✅ Shout-out to deputies and investigators who quickly connected the dots across multiple jurisdictions
✅ Hat tip to the officers who originally spotted the suspect and launched the investigation
💡 Takeaways from This Twisted Tale:
✔️ If you find something suspicious—report it. Don’t assume it’s harmless.
✔️ Never handle drugs or weapons unnecessarily—leave it to professionals.
✔️ Cross-agency communication matters—this case stretched across Chesapeake, Huntington, and Lawrence County, and it took teamwork to put the pieces together.
💬 This case had it all: a bag gone missing in a foot chase, drugs, a gun, and a vacationer who just wanted to clean out his truck.
You couldn’t script it better if you tried.
