Drug arrest goes haywire

ST. PETERSBURG — An undercover drug bust erupted in chaos Tuesday afternoon, resulting in gunfire in a Wal-Mart parking lot, a chase and a police cruiser mistakenly ramming an undercover vehicle.

The bizarre chain of events, which began when two undercover St. Petersburg detectives met three men in the store's parking lot to buy drugs, has resulted in two arrests and two internal investigations.

The buy went wrong about 1:15 p.m. when one of the men pulled out a 9mm semiautomatic handgun to rob the detectives, police said.

The detectives handed over their money, but then shot at the men as they fled the parking lot at 3501 34th St. S, police said.

No one was injured in the shooting, which is now the subject of an internal investigation.

"An officer can use deadly force if he or she believes that his or her life is in danger, and that may apply here, but I don't have all the facts," said police spokesman Bill Proffitt.

It is unclear why the bust was set up in such a public place, but detectives had bought from one of the men before, police said.

"We can't always control the location," said Proffitt, who would not release the detectives' names because of their undercover status.

After the gunplay, the men took off in a blue Suzuki with both undercover and patrol units following.

Moments later, Stephen Mathews, a 24-year-old off-duty officer who had heard about the incident over the radio, rammed his take home cruiser into a dark sport utility vehicle he saw leave the area near Lakewood Estates.

But the SUV Mathews hit turned out to be a undercover vehicle.

Mathews and the two undercover officers inside the SUV, which rolled over once and landed on four flat tires, were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released, police said.

Meanwhile, a second cruiser, driven by Officer Barry Books, tracked down the blue Suzuki a few blocks away. Books rear-ended the sedan, and the officers took the three men inside into custody.

They identified two of them as: Antwan Marquis Britt, 21, of 3940 55th St. N, Apt. 101, St. Petersburg, and Christopher Jerome Toliver, 20, of 2013 18th Ave. S, Apt. 7, St. Petersburg. The third man's name was withheld because police said he is a witness.

Britt was arrested on charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and principal of sale to counterfeit drugs.

Toliver was arrested on charges of armed robbery, sale and possession of cocaine and attempted sale and possession of a counterfeit drug.

The detectives involved in Tuesday's shooting were placed on administrative leave with pay while the incident is investigated. Police also will investigate the ramming of the undercover SUV.

Department policy allows officers to ram another vehicle only when deadly force would be authorized.