Pottstown man jailed on drug charges

NORRISTOWN » A Pottstown man is headed to jail on charges he distributed cocaine in the borough and later tried to elude police in a vehicle, placing numerous pedestrians in danger.

Christopher John Artis, 40, of the 700 block of North Charlotte Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, fleeing and eluding police and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with two incidents that occurred between April and June 2019.

Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Artis to complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning Artis, who also listed an address in the 400 block of Buttonwood Street in Pottstown, will be under court supervision for about four years.

An investigation of Artis

began in April 2019 when Pottstown police received information that Artis was trafficking cocaine in the borough, according to a criminal complaint. During the investigation, Artis delivered an amount of crack cocaine to a confidential informant during a controlled buy that took place at an undisclosed location in the borough.

At that time, a warrant was issued for Artis’ arrest.

On June 28, borough police attempted to stop the driver of a Buick sedan for an alleged traffic violation on Myrtle Street.

“I activated my emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The vehicle then accelerated at a high rate of speed south on Myrtle Street,” Pottstown Police Officer Timothy Coffland alleged in the arrest affidavit. “The vehicle passed at least 10 bystanders who were either in the street or on the sidewalk.”

Police said the vehicle stopped at the intersection of West Buttonwood Street and Custer Court and the driver, later identified as Artis, exited the vehicle

and fled on foot and was able to evade police at that time, according to court papers.

During the course of the

investigation, police were able to identify Artis as the operator of the vehicle. Police alleged Artis had been stopped in the vehicle previously

by West Pottsgrove Police and cited for driving with a suspended license/

Court documents did not indicate when Artis was

taken into custody.

Other charges of criminal use of a communication facility, possession of drug paraphernalia, dealing

in proceeds of unlawful activities, careless driving and reckless driving were dismissed against Artis as part of the plea agreement.