Syracuse, NY-- A two-county police chase Wednesday started with the report of a motorist asking for money, Syracuse police said. At 12:28 p.m. Wednesday someone complained to police that a person operating a red Volvo with Ohio license plates at James Street and Leo Avenue was asking for money. The vehicle left before police arrived, but the person who...
Thomas StewartAt 12:28 p.m. Wednesday someone complained to police that a person operating a red Volvo with Ohio license plates at James Street and Leo Avenue was asking for money.
The vehicle left before police arrived, but the person who complained provided them with a license plate number. That plate number came back to a stolen vehicle.
At about 1:15 p.m., officers saw the stolen car on Hawley Avenue and Mather Street. When they tried to stop the car, it sped away leading police on a chase north on Interstate 81 and then east on State Route 31.
The chase ended at 1:45 p.m. at 2828 State Route 31 in Madison County, just east of the Route 13 intersection, when Madison County sheriff’s deputies put spikes in the road to flatten the tires of the red Volvo.
State troopers and sheriff’s deputies from Onondaga and Madison counties assisted. Syracuse police said it was not a high-speed chase.
The driver was identified as Thomas Stewart, 45, of 713 Catherine St. He was charged with felony criminal possession of stolen property, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and unlawful fleeing of a police officer, both misdemeanors.
Stewart also faces several vehicle and traffic violations.
Stewart is in the Onondaga County Justice Center today awaiting arraignment.