Police: Man wanted on 19 felonies hit police cruiser, fled

Durham police are looking for a convicted felon they say used a stolen car to intentionally ram a police cruiser Thursday to avoid arrest on 19 charges.

Officer C.L. McCoy Jr. tried to stop a stolen 2006 Toyota Corolla on Moorehead Avenue around 8:15 p.m. Police said the Toyota driver – identified as Bernard Ramsey Monk – struck the cruiser and drove away. McCoy wasn't injured in the wreck.

Officers chased the Toyota down Moorehead Avenue, onto Chapel Hill Road and then Rainbow Way, off James Street, police said. The Toyota crashed there, and Monk jumped out and ran.

Police searched the area for more than an hour but did not find him.

Monk, 38, of Moreene Road, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, possession of a stolen vehicle, felony fleeing to elude arrest, hit-and-run, injury to property and resisting, delaying and obstructing an officer.

Monk was already wanted on 19 felony charges, including common-law forgery and obtaining property by false pretense.

Investigators believe that Monk was responsible for more than a dozen vehicle break-ins last summer along Campus Walk Drive and Neal, Moreene and Hillandale roads. GPS units, stereo equipment and purses were stolen from the vehicles.

According to state Department of Correction records, Monk served more than five months on two counts of possessing stolen goods in 2006 and 2007.

Anyone with information on Monk’s whereabouts should call Investigator R.J. Guardino at 919-560-4583, ext. 29364 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases, and callers never have to identify themselves.