22-02-2025
Four charged after chase through Frederick, Montgomery counties
A Prince George's County man faces assault, drug, and traffic charges, accused of leading police on a chase that began near Frederick and continued into Montgomery County on Thursday night.
Shawn Ray Elswick, 25, of Riverdale, is charged with three counts each of first- and second-degree assault; one count each of unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, possession of drugs: not cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, and negligent and reckless driving; and numerous traffic charges.
Three other people were in the vehicle with Elswick and also face charges, authorities said.
Elswick was still being held after a bail review hearing Friday in Frederick County District Court, with another hearing scheduled for Monday.
Court records did not list an attorney to represent Elswick.
A sheriff's deputy was on patrol around Md. 85 and Grove Road near Frederick when he saw a white Nissan van turn down a narrow gravel road behind a shopping center, in what the deputy believed was an effort to avoid him, according to charging documents.
As he followed the van down the gravel road, a computer search showed that the van was stolen and the deputy attempted to stop the vehicle.
When the deputy turned on his emergency lights, the van went north onto Interstate 270, then to U.S. 15 before taking the exit for Motter Avenue and onto Opposumtown Pike toward Fort Detrick.
After turning around, the van went back onto U.S. 15 and I-270, being tracked on radar at 100 mph, according to the charging documents.
The chase continued into Montgomery County, ultimately exiting onto Shady Grove Road near Gaithersburg.
At an intersection, the van rammed another vehicle waiting at the red light and pushed it out of the way. Two of that vehicle's three occupants were taken to Shady Grove Hospital as a result of their vehicle being rammed, according to charging documents.
The van was stopped by the Montgomery County Police Department at a Sheetz store in Gaithersburg, where Elswick was found in the bathroom attempting to flush drug paraphernalia down the toilet, according to the charging documents.
Drugs and paraphernalia were found throughout the van and in the possession of the three other men in the van, according to the documents.
Reny Escobar, 24, of Frederick, Walter Cabrera Miranda, 28, no address given, and Jose Torres Juarez, 19, no address given, were charged with motor vehicle theft, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and possession of paraphernalia.
The three could not be located in online court records Friday, but Miranda and Juarez were both held on an Immigration Detainer Notice of Action, accused of being in the United States illegally, according to a press release from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
