Meriden police arrested 37-year-old Sherrod Franklin of West Haven on drug and gun charges after he allegedly tried to elude officers during a traffic stop in Meriden.[1][2] Officers and detectives had tried to stop his vehicle during a targeted investigation, and he attempted to elude them before being apprehended.[1] Police described Franklin as a convicted felon who is ineligible to possess firearms.[1][2] He was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, use of drug paraphernalia, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a high-capacity magazine, interfering with an officer, possession with intent to sell a non-narcotic substance, risk of injury to a minor, failure to signal and disobeying the signal of an officer.[1] He was being held in lieu of a $400,000 bond with a court date of November 19.[1]

At the arrest, Franklin was found in possession of narcotics and sale quantities of marijuana.[1][2] A later search of his home under a search warrant recovered a handgun, a high-capacity magazine and further sale quantities of narcotics and marijuana.[1][2] Officers also found a 10-year-old child left unsupervised in the apartment.[1][2]

Police said the arrest grew out of a targeted enforcement effort conducted around the Meriden Green on October 29 to address complaints about quality-of-life issues and narcotics activity.[1] That effort produced multiple infraction tickets and multiple arrests.[1] Those stops spanned pedestrian and motor-vehicle violations as well as narcotics activity.[1]

Franklin faces 11 charges.[2]