5 days ago
Hollidaysburg man charged after leading officers on ‘reckless' pursuit
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Hollidaysburg man is facing charges after he allegedly led multiple police departments on a high speed chase and almost hit an officer head on while he was driving in the wrong lane.
James Potts, 44, is facing over 40 charges after he allegedly led officers on a high-speed chase, according to a criminal complaint. On June 2, a Pennsylvania trooper received a call to respond to a pursuit in Vintondale Borough in Cambria County. Potts, who was driving a Ford Explorer with a utility trailer attached, had fled from police on Ben Franklin Highway.
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According to the complaint, while running from police, Potts's vehicle reached speeds up to 90 mph and drove into the other lanes multiple times. During the pursuit, a cruiser from the Nanty Glo Borough Police Department was damaged, and the chief of the Blacklick Township Police Department was almost struck and an officer with the Cambria Township Police Department sustained a hand injury that needed sutures.
Potts eventually lost control of the vehicle and allegedly tried to flee from police into a nearby wooded area. However, he was arrested after a failed deployment of a stun gun or taser.
'This multi-jurisdictional high speed pursuit placed the lives of responding officers and the general public in danger, and occurred at high unsafe speeds in combination with reckless and careless driving,' Troopers noted in the complaint.
Potts is facing felony charges of aggravated assault, fleeing officers, criminal mischief and evading arrest. He's also facing misdemeanor charges of simple assault, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person, along with multiple summary driving offenses.
He's in the Cambria County Prison with bail set at 10% of $600,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10.
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