Teen in custody after Waldorf car chase
A juvenile was arrested and two men were briefly detained after leading police on a car chase in Waldorf Monday afternoon, according to authorities. After the chase ended in a crash, police say a handgun was also recovered.
The juvenile, a 16-yearold from Waldorf, has been charged with possession of the handgun and as the getaway driver.
On Monday around 3:49 p.m., officers responded to a possible large fight in progress at Kipling Drive and Dartmouth Road.
As an officer arrived, several individuals ran from the scene and four men drove off in a maroon Saturn.
“The officer gave chase; the vehicle refused to stop, running stop signs, running on the wrong side of the road,” Charles County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. D. Belfield said. Police chased the car about a mile before the driver crashed into a parked sports utility vehicle at the end of Knollwater Court.
The officer pursuing the Saturn was able to immediately apprehend the two men in the backseat of the car, but the driver and front passenger bailed out and proceeded to run into the woods, police said.
The juvenile cut through the woods and was finally caught near Bryan Court by pursuing officers, where they found a handgun nearby, according to authorities. The front passenger got away.
“Officers chased the suspect on foot and eventually caught him. One of the officers was able to backtrack the direction he ran, and we located a weapon [handgun] tucked up underneath a vehicle’s front tire,” Belfield said.
After deputies read him his Miranda rights, he allegedly admitted he was the one driving the vehicle.
The investigation is ongoing as police work to determine the identity of the man who escaped.