Traffic stop gets weird when man runs, hides in stranger’s motel bathroom, NC cops say

A traffic stop turned into a toilet stakeout in North Carolina, after a driver ran into someone’s motel room and hid in their bathroom, according to High Point Police Department.

It happened around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, at the Arcadia Inn, a “no-frills motel” in High Point, according to its Hotels.com listing.

Investigators say their suspect was in the bathroom long enough to flush some evidence and stuff a few thousand dollars in the toilet’s water tank.

The chase began when officers tried stopping a black Dodge Challenger near a home on Greenview Terrace Road, officials said. The city is about 75 miles northeast of uptown Charlotte.

“The vehicle pulled behind the house and the driver, Joshua Cureton (30), and passenger, Roger Little (33), ran from the vehicle toward the Arcadia Inn,” police said.

“Little was apprehended quickly. Officers chased Cureton on foot all the way to the Arcadia Inn where Cureton was last seen on the second floor of the hotel. Cureton disappeared into an unknown hotel room.”

Officers set out to check multiple motel rooms, but the first guest they encountered reported a stranger just “ran into his room and was hiding in the bathroom,” police said.

Cureton was arrested soon after. Investigators say he had been in the bathroom long enough to flush “a quantity of the marijuana” and he tried hiding $2,239 in the toilet’s tank.

The money was recovered and officers collected “a small amount of marijuana,” officials said. A pistol was found in the abandoned Dodge Challenger, officials said.

Cureton was “charged with possession with intent to sell/deliver Schedule VI, felonious restraint, possession of firearm by felon, and felony flee to elude,” officials said. His bond was set at $125,000.

Little is charged with resist/delay/obstruct law enforcement, officials said.

This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Traffic stop gets weird when man runs, hides in stranger’s motel bathroom, NC cops say."