Pennsylvania State Police arrested a Philadelphia teen and are searching for a second person following a high-speed chase in Salisbury Township early Wednesday morning.
State police charged Exavier Manuel Velez, 18, of East Chelten Avenue, on Wednesday with fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, three counts of receiving stolen property and 20 additional charges.
Velez is being held at Lancaster County Prison after failing to post $500,000 bail. As of Friday, he did not have an attorney listed on his docket. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
At 2:44 a.m. Wednesday, state police were notified that West Lampeter Township police were involved in an active pursuit of a dark-colored sedan and requested assistance, according to charging documents. The vehicle was traveling east on Lincoln Highway East (Route 30), where troopers deployed spike strips.
Troopers saw the sedan about eight minutes later, speeding with its headlights off, according to the affidavit. Police used spike strips to flatten both passenger-side tires, but the vehicle continued east before turning right onto Newport Road (SR 722).
The sedan was traveling about 70 mph in a 35-mph zone and was described by troopers as “extremely reckless,” according to charging documents. At the intersection of Newport and Brackbill roads, the vehicle drove into a gravel parking lot of an unspecified business, went up an embankment, passed between telephone poles and entered another business’s parking lot before crashing through a wooden fence and into a farm field.
Troopers used the precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, to force the vehicle to stop. The maneuver involves a police vehicle intentionally coming into contact with a feeling vehicle to stop the pursuit. Two men wearing ski masks exited the passenger side of the vehicle and fled, according to the affidavit. Troopers apprehended one of the men, identified as Velez, while the second suspect escaped and remains unidentified.
Police recovered a ghost gun from a cupholder inside the vehicle, according to charging documents. Ghost guns are firearms without serial numbers. The sedan was identified as a 2021 Honda Accord reported stolen by the Philadelphia Police Department. Troopers also found tools that could be used in vehicle thefts, body armor, and two stolen license plates inside the car.
Investigators determined Velez was driving the vehicle based on video footage of the pursuit, according to the affidavit. Velez told police he had recently ingested marijuana.
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