Immediate Release:
On March 15, 2023, at approximately 7:22 AM the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department was dispatched to DML Automotive, located in the 1000 block of Wilmington Pike in Westtown Township, for the report of a theft of catalytic converter from a vehicle that had just occurred.
Shortly after being provided with a description of the suspect and the vehicle he was driving, a responding Westtown-East Goshen patrol officer located the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The operator of the vehicle refused to stop, leading officers on a brief pursuit. After obtaining further investigative information about the fleeing vehicle, the pursuing officer terminated the pursuit while in the 1600 block of Wilmington Pike in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County.
Moments after the pursuit was terminated the operator of the fleeing vehicle was involved in a minor crash with two uninvolved motorists. The operator of the fleeing vehicle continued on and was then involved in another motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Routes 202 and 1, which disabled his vehicle. The operator of the fleeing vehicle attempted to run from the scene on foot but was taken into custody by officers. There were no injuries as a result of the motor vehicle crashes.
The Pennsylvania State Police were contacted and Troopers from Troop K, Media Station arrived on scene and assisted with the investigation.
Jesse J. Hawkins Jr., 31 years old, from Wilmington Delaware is charged with Theft by unlawful taking, Fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, Receiving stolen property, Driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance, Possession of a controlled substance, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property, and related traffic offenses. He was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Martin Goch and was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $75,000.00 cash bail.
Lt. David Leahy
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