David DeWitt. Contributed photo.
A Sharon man who said he led police on a high-speed chase because he did not want to go back to jail has been sentenced to prison.
David E. Dewitt, 27, pleaded guilty Jan. 9 to a Brookfield police charge of attempted failure to comply, a felony. Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice sentenced Dewitt March 6 to 8 months in prison.
Dewitt has been in custody since his arrest Sept. 27.
Brookfield police said they spotted a car that matched the description of one that had been involved in an earlier chase on Sept. 27 on Route 62, having just traveled from Pennsylvania. Police checked on the license plate and found that it had been issued to a different vehicle.
Police activated their lights and siren and the car sped up, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, police said. The driver broke various speed laws, ran stop signs and red lights and passed other vehicles on the shoulder during the 18-minute chase into Youngstown, police said.
The car got stuck in mud on Jacobs Road, police said. Police recognized Dewitt, who got out of the car and ran, but was stopped by a Taser jolt and arrested.
Dewitt said he ran because he knew there was a warrant out for his arrest and he did not want to go back to jail, police said.
Brookfield Fire-EMS removed the Taser probes from Dewitt’s back, police said.
