Cops: Man faces charges after leading authorities on chase in stolen truck
According to police, a landscaper was working at a property in the area of the 600 block of Darby-Paoli Road in the Villanova section of the township. He was about 50-feet from his Dodge Ram pickup truck when his vehicle was stolen.
Radnor police Lt. Shawn Dietrich said the incident took palace at about 3:30 p.m. when the suspect, later identified as Freeman, was walking through the area, jumped in the truck and drove away.
The truck’s owner quickly called police with descriptions of his vehicle and the man he spotted getting inside.
One thing that might have helped police locate the truck was that it still had a trailer attached to it.
Radnor police reported the incident to neighboring departments. It was spotted a short time later by a Newtown Township police officer near Newtown Street Road and Goshen Road.
Police said Freeman sped up in an attempt to elude officers.
Police began a short chase when Freeman crashed the truck on Rockwood Farm Road in residential development near Goshen Road.
According to Dietrich, Freeman then exited the truck and ran into the nearby woods.
At the same time, residents were telling police he had gone through back yards.
Radnor police were informed of the chase. Police Officer Jennifer Cocco and her K-9 partner Rocky responded to the scene while numerous other police officers converged on the area.
Freeman was then taken into custody a short time later and charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, resisting arrest, recklessly endangering another person and related offenses. Following Freeman’s arraignment on the charges, he was remanded to Delaware County Prison on $25,000 bail.