Cops: Man speeding in Bellport had drugs in car

A Mastic man drove past schoolchildren at more than 80 mph in Bellport Thursday as he tried to flee from detectives who knew he did not have a valid driver's license, Suffolk police said.

After Harrie Shorter, 37, was chased down at a friend's house, a bag with more than 4 ounces of crack was found in his car, Fifth Precinct detectives said. Marijuana was also seized from the car, police said.

He was driving a Cadillac on Bellport Avenue at about 3:45 p.m. when he was spotted by detectives familiar with him, who knew his license had been revoked, police said.

When the detectives tried to pull him over, he sped off, going 80 to 100 mph and passing children by a school bus on Bellport Avenue, said Det. Sgt. Bryan McMenemy. Shorter also ignored stop signs, police said.

"There were just so many people around, he could have killed a person or injured somebody," McMenemy said.

The short chase ended when Shorter bailed out of his car and ran to a friend's house at the corner of Bellport and Hampton avenues, where he was arrested, police said.

Shorter, of 21 Sherwood Drive, was held overnight pending arraignment Friday on several charges: second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana, second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree aggravated unlicensed of a motor vehicle and several other traffic violations.