MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — A suspect in a series of package thefts in Morgantown is facing charges after he allegedly led a Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputy on a chase Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint, the deputy was watching the suspect vehicle, a white Chevy Trailblazer, that was parked near the Oasis Cafe on Maple Drive when a man got inside it and began driving.
The man failed to stop at a stop sign, and the deputy attempted a traffic stop on Chestnut Ridge Road, according to the complaint, and a pursuit began.
During the chase, the suspect hit multiple guardrails and mailboxes and at times drove faster than 80 miles per hour, sometimes in the opposite lane of traffic.
The pursuit ended on Pounds Hollow because of icy road conditions, according to the complaint.
Later, the deputy saw a man matching the description of the driver near Tyrone Avery Road, identified as John Richie, 27. After being detained and read his Miranda Rights, Richie admitted to driving the vehicle during the pursuit, according to the complaint.
He was charged with fleeing a law enforcement officer in a vehicle and is being held in the North Central Regional Jail on $100,012 surety/cash bail.
