Three charged after traffic stop in Albany leads to foot pursuit

Cops: Fleeing man barricaded himself inside nearby home

Three Albany residents are facing several charges after two of them led police on a foot chase during a traffic stop in the city Monday.

State Police say they stopped a vehicle on Watervliet Avenue just after noon for traffic infractions, and while interviewing the driver, 45-year-old Travis Smith, observed a backseat passenger trying to conceal a bag with his feet.

The passenger provided police with a false name but was ultimately identified as 33-year-old Danilo Medina, they said. When asked to step out of the vehicle, he and another passenger, 29-year-old Chantel E. Mudd, ran away, they said.

According to police, Medina entered a residence with a child inside and barricaded the front door. He then left the home and jumped a fence, where he encountered a state trooper who sustained injuries while taking him into custody.

Police say Medina had swallowed an unknown quantity of crack cocaine and had to be taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Medina was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, criminal impersonation, assault, criminal possession of an anti-security item, possession of burglar tools, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal trespass, tampering with physical evidence, obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Meanwhile, a search of the vehicle revealed articles of stolen clothing, a device to remove magnetic tags, and crack cocaine, police said.

Smith, who was driving, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of an anti-security item, possession of burglar tools, and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Mudd, who had f led when Medina left the car, was arrested the next day when she went to visit Medina in the hospital.

She was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, criminal impersonation, criminal possession of an anti-security item, possession of burglar tools, obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.