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Fugitive sought who eluded Boston police

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 26, 2009 02:56 PM

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Top law enforcement officials are asking for the public's help in finding Christian Miranda, an alleged cocaine trafficker who has evaded capture since Monday, when Boston police observed him participating in what they described as a wholesale cocaine purchase.

Miranda, a 39-year-old from Roxbury, is believed to be one of the "impact players" in the world of drug and gun crime who spread "anxiety, fear, and, frankly, violence through many of Boston's neighborhoods," Attorney General Martha Coakley said today at a press conference with city and state law enforcement officials.

After allegedly observing the cocaine deal on Monday, police tried to arrest Miranda, but he eluded them in a car and foot chase aided by associates. Through the dark of the Dorchester night, officers last saw Miranda making what they believed to be threatening gestures at them with a gun before he hopped a fence and escaped, Coakley said.

"He's a person that we need to get off of the street, and we need the help of the community now to make that happen," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.

Coakley described Miranda as a stocky, light-skinned black man who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 215 pounds. He is believed to have ties to Roxbury, Dorchester, and Hyde Park in Boston and to have connections in North Carolina, Connecticut, and Rhode Island as well.

Last month, a jury in North Carolina's Nash County found Miranda not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2007 shooting of a Rocky Mount, N.C., man.

Authorities urged anyone with knowledge of Miranda's whereabouts to contact the Boston Police Department's Crime Stoppers line at 800-494-TIPS or to contact State Police at 508-820-2121.