A man accused of having cocaine and cannabis worth more than $80,000 stashed in a Smith?s Parish apartment tried to run away with the evidence despite being handcuffed, a court has heard.

Appearing at the Supreme Court, Deon Eugene Bassett, 27, has denied possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, having a set of scales that were used for weighting drugs and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

A jury has been told Police carried out a search of the studio apartment in Cherry Lane in the presence of Bassett and discovered a small zip-up bag on a shelf in a closet containing clothes and linen. The zip-up bag was found to contain three bags of cannabis that weighed 39.42 grams and had a street value of $3,900, said Crown counsel Graveney Bannister.

On another shelf there was a pink bag inside of which were five smaller plastic bags containing cocaine powder, which weighed 284.82 grams and had a street value of $81,895.

Also in the closet was a digital set of scales, on which were found traces of both cocaine and cannabis. On a shelf above the bed in the apartment $330 in US bank notes was also found, the jury heard.

All the items were put in a Police evidence bag, which was placed on a table at the entrance of the apartment. As a further search was conducted by officers outside the property, Bassett, who was handcuffed, is said to have grabbed the evidence bag and run to a wooded area where he was caught by pursuing officers who restrained him after a struggle.

Detective Constable Allan Meiguel, giving evidence to the court, explained he and a number of other officers had arrived at the apartment on the evening of November 9, 2004 accompanied by Bassett.

Using a search warrant the officers entered the studio apartment and conducted a search. Bassett sat on the bed as Det. Con. Meiguel conducted the search of the closet.

?On the top shelf I found a zip-up bag containing three plastic twists of plant material. I held this bag up to the accused and asked him what was in the bag. The accused began to cry,? said Det. Con. Meiguel. ?I continued my search and on the other shelf I found a pink plastic bag and this contained five clear plastic bags each containing a white, powdery substance. I asked the accused what was in the pink plastic bag ? he continued to cry.?

A set of scales and the US dollar notes were also found in the room and, together with the plastic bags containing the cannabis and cocaine, were placed in an evidence bag which was placed on a table near the entrance to the apartment as officers conducted a search outside the property.

Det. Con. Meiguel said: ?While searching outside I was alerted by a commotion. I spun around to see the accused running towards a wooded area.?

The court heard that Bassett was seen to run across a lawn and then through a wooded area that included a steep decline. On the other side of the wooded area he was caught up by Police officers Det. Con. Roger Saints, Det. Con. Warren Bundy and Sgt. Kuhn Evans.

Giving evidence Det. Con. Saints said Bassett had grabbed the evidence bag from the table outside the apartment without warning and ran away through a ?dark, heavily wooded area?.

He said: ?Sgt. Evans caught him (Bassett) up and I joined him and illuminated the area with a flashlight and could see Bassett was struggling violently with Sgt. Evans and trying to escape.

?I attempted to assist Sgt. Evans. Bassett continued to lash out with his hands and feet. At one point I could feel Bassett biting my forearm.?

The court heard that Bassett suffered a small cut to his forehead in the struggle before he was restrained. The bag of evidence was found intact lying beneath him.

Defence lawyer Victoria Pearman cross-examined Det. Con. Meiguel and suggested that the story of Bassett running away with the evidence and the ensuing struggle was ?a fabrication? to explain the injury he received while in the custody of the narcotic officers.

Det. Con. Meiguel said that was not the case.

The trial continues.