Wilmington police recently put cuffs on an 18-year-old man, Hasaan Clark, for an array of charges stemming from firearm and drug possession. The arrest, occurring on November 4 in the 1400 block of Northeast Boulevard, took place when Clark was found illegally zooming on a motorized scooter. This mundane traffic violation spiraled quickly as Clark decided to make a run for it, leading police on a foot chase before his apprehension.
The pursuit ended with officers discovering a .40 caliber handgun and 4 grams of crack cocaine in Clark's possession. Running on foot, the police managed to tackle the suspect to the ground without further incident. Details of the charges levied against Clark include possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, hindering prosecution, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, and the initial misdeed of operating a motorized scooter illegally.
After the arrest, Clark was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and now sits in Howard R. Young Correctional Institution. The cash-only bail has been set at a steep $25,100, indicating the seriousness with which the courts are taking the charges. The Wilmington Police Department provided information via their website, laying down the facts of the November 4 incident for the public to digest.
A .40 caliber handgun, while in the hands of Clark, is just another part of this saga – a representation of issues the city faces with gun violence and street crime. And as the 4 grams of crack cocaine tells a narrative of drug circulation and addiction that plagues countless communities, In Justice of the Peace Court 11, where Clark received his arraignment, echoed these themes, decided by the hand of societal scale, weighing heavily on the young man's future.
