Man acquitted of murder sought on drug charges

Boston police look for Miranda

A Boston man acquitted last month of first-degree murder in Nash County is the subject of a manhunt in his home state after allegedly fleeing a drug bust and threatening authorities with a gun.

Boston police say 39-year-old Christian Miranda ran from officers last week after an alleged drug deal, eventually jumping over a fence and escaping, officials said.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley took to the airwaves this week, calling Miranda one of the “impact players” in the regional drug scene who spread “anxiety, fear and, frankly, violence through many of Boston’s neighborhoods.”

Miranda is known to have family and social connections in Rocky Mount, Boston police said.

The charges come about a month after a Nash County jury found Miranda not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2007 shooting death of Marvin Braswell. After more than two years of litigation and after two weeks of testimony, Miranda said last month he was relieved to have his “good name cleared” of the Rocky Mount shooting.

Authorities in Boston charged him last week with two felony counts of trafficking cocaine in an amount over 100 grams and two counts of possession of illegal possession of a firearm and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act.

“Christian Miranda eluded police after both a car and foot chase,” Coakley said in press conference this week. “After he ran from police, he jumped over a fence and made menacing gestures at police with what they believed to be a firearm.”

An ongoing joint investigation conducted by Massachusetts State Police and the Boston Police Department concluded Christian Miranda had been distributing large amounts of cocaine in the Boston area.

Detectives arrested two men last week a short distance from the location of the planned drug transaction, Joselito Torres Vasquez, age 31, and Miguel Pena, age 32, whom authorities believe to be Miranda’s drug suppliers.

When police located Miranda later that night, he fled by car and then on foot, officials said.

During the course of the investigation, police said they recovered two firearms believed to belong to Miranda and seized more than 100 grams of cocaine.

Anyone with information regarding Miranda’s whereabouts should call Boston police at 1-800-494-TIPS or the Massachusetts State Police at 508-820-2121.