Drug, Gun Raid At Manchester Hotel Turns Into Wild Scene

MANCHESTER, CT — A Thursday police raid at an oft-visited hotel in Manchester resulted in a wild scene that led to a rammed cruiser, the recovery of a stole car and the seizure of guns and drugs.

Early Thursday morning, as part of an ongoing investigation into narcotics and firearms related crimes, officers with the Manchester Police Department, Capitol Region Emergency Services Team, and East Central Narcotics Task Force executed two search warrants on two rooms at the Hawthorne Suites, 191 Spencer St.

The raid resulted in the seizure of both firearms and narcotics, and police were still at the scene into the late morning hours, according to an incident report. Two people were taken into custody, Manchester police said.

During the operation, CREST officers encountered two vehicles in the parking lot of the Hawthorne Suites unrelated to the investigation, an incident report indicates. One of vehicles, a white Audi SQ5, rammed a South Windsor Police Department vehicle in an effort to flee the parking lot, according to an innocent report.

The South Windsor officer was not injured as a result of the collision, but the Audi pushed the SWPD vehicle before heading west on Spencer Street toward East Hartford at a high rate of speed, police said.

A second vehicle, believed to be a white Jeep Cherokee, also fled the area and followed the Audi at a high rate of speed, according to an incident report.

The Audi was later determined to have been stolen out of Tolland and was recovered in Wethersfield Thursday morning with "heavy damage," according to an incident report.

Investigators are requesting anyone who may have witnessed the vehicles involved in the collision with the SWPD vehicle contact the Manchester Police Department at 860-645-5500.

The search warrants resulted from an investigation into gun, narcotics and "other criminal activity" in the area of the hotel, police said. Records show that, over the course of this year, officers have responded to the area 140 times for incidents involving narcotics, noise complaints, trespassing, thefts, burglaries to motor vehicles, weapons and other offenses.