Eureka foot chase leads to meth, burglary tools arrest

A short foot chase near the 3300 block of Glen Street ended with Eureka police booking Christopher Smith, 42, of Eureka, on felony meth possession, probation violations, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest after officers said he tried to break away from a contact on the street.

Police first saw Smith quickly leaving a nearby park area on Wednesday, May 13, then watched him walk toward a nearby residence, jump a fence into the yard and run when officers again tried to stop him. After a brief pursuit, officers detained him nearby without further incident.

Officers also recovered a backpack Smith allegedly threw away during the chase. Inside, they found burglary tools, adding a property-crime element to what began as a street-level drug contact. The case tied together several of the problems Eureka officers say they keep finding in the same neighborhoods: suspected narcotics activity, people running from police and tools that can be used to pry into homes, vehicles or outbuildings.

The arrest landed in the middle of a broader run of drug enforcement cases across Eureka and Humboldt County. In another Eureka case, police said they seized methamphetamine and fentanyl after a vehicle chase tied to a street-level drug deal investigation. In February, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force and sheriff’s office served warrants at two Eureka residences and reported finding methamphetamine, fentanyl, pills and a stolen firearm.

Eureka police have also been dealing with a separate matter involving a man identified as Christopher John Smith, also known as Christopher Littlejohn, after the department’s Problem Oriented Policing Team said it had received numerous complaints that he was selling narcotics and carrying guns. That report described him as 37 and a convicted felon who is barred from owning firearms or ammunition.

Taken together, the cases show how quickly a simple street stop in Eureka can turn into a broader criminal case once officers make contact and search what a suspect drops or hides during a chase. On Glenn Street, that sequence turned a brief run into a felony booking tied to meth, probation, burglary tools and resistance to arrest.