Fulton, NY – A Syracuse man is being held in the Fulton city lockup after he allegedly led officers from four police agencies on a chase Sunday night through Oswego and Onondaga counties. The incident began about 10:07 p.m. Sunday when Fulton officers spotted a passenger car on South First Street near Rochester Street that had been reported stolen earlier...
Fulton, NY – A Syracuse man is being held in the Fulton city lockup after he allegedly led officers from four police agencies on a chase Sunday night through Oswego and Onondaga counties.
The incident began about 10:07 p.m. Sunday when Fulton officers spotted a passenger car on South First Street near Rochester Street that had been reported stolen earlier in the Oswego County city.
When the officers tried to get the driver to pull over the driver sped off, taking Route 48 south from Fulton. The car continued onto Route 690, then Interstate 690 and Interstate 81. The Oswego County Sheriff’s Department, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department and its Air One helicopter and the state police joined the pursuit, which reached an average speed between 70 mph and 80 mph, Fulton Lt. Jason Delano said.
The car was stopped about 10:53 p.m. on I-81 near the Tully exit after one of the police agencies deployed a stop strip, blowing out one of the car’s tires, Delano said. About 10 police units were on hand when the driver, Terry M. Smith Jr., 26, of Syracuse, was taken into custody, he said.
Smith was charged with felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and criminal possession of stolen property, plus misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
He is to be arraigned today in Fulton City Court, Delano said.
A passenger in the car, whom Delano would not identify, is cooperating with authorities and was released without charge, he said.
While Smith was the alleged driver, the investigation is continuing to determine whether he was the person who stole the car, Delano said.