North Port police pull reluctant suspect from home

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A suspected cocaine dealer was arrested in North Port Thursday, after police used tear gas to force him from his hiding place, police say.

North Port Police attempted to arrest Castelow Steen, 34, of Sarasota, after getting a tip he was hiding out in North Port.

Steen was sighted in the 3200 block of Penelope Terrace. When he saw police, he fled into a home. Police tried to communicate with Steen for several hours, with no success.

After discovering Steen was hiding in the attic, the department’s Special Response Team was dispatched. After a final attempt to convince Steen to surrender, “chemical agents” were deployed into the attic.

Steen surrendered without further incident or injury. He was booked into the Sarasota County Jail on three counts of selling cocaine, using a communications device to facilitate a felony, and booked on a warrant for failure to appear on previous drug charges.