Published: February 12, 2009 10:59 pm      

Man facing charges in attempted carjacking

CANNONSBURG — A man who was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a pursuit with West Virginia authorities Tuesday night is facing charges in connection with an attempted carjacking in Boyd County.

According to a news release from the Boyd County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were dispatched to the home of a Cannonsburg woman at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday after she reported a man had approached her and tried to steal her car as she was leaving the Cannonsburg Wal-Mart.

The woman told deputies the suspect pinned her up against her car and tried to reach inside the vehicle and grab her keys. However, the woman said she was able to grab an umbrella and started hitting the man with it.

The suspect then fled on foot across the parking lot with the woman still chasing him and hitting him with the umbrella, the sheriff’s department said.

The man got into a car with Ohio tags being driven by another man, and the vehicle took off out of the parking lot. An off-duty police officer was able to obtain the car’s license number and a computer check revealed it had been reported stolen in Portsmouth, the sheriff’s department said.

A description of the vehicle was broadcast to other area law-enforcement agencies. At 9:15 p.m., Huntington police officers spotted the car and attempted to pull it over, but the driver refused to stop.

West Virginia State Police joined in the chase and put out stop sticks to deflate the car’s tires. However, the chase continued until the vehicle hit a guardrail and a police cruiser in West Hamlin, the sheriff’s department said.

Both the driver and passenger were arrested. The passenger was not charged in connection with the chase but will be charged in connection with the Boyd County incident, the sheriff’s department said.

The news release did not include the name of either the driver or passenger.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.