Butler man charged with fleeing police, drug possession following Thursday chase
A Butler man is being held in the county prison in lieu of $100,000 bail while he waits to face drug possession and fleeing from police charges that police filed following a Thursday night chase.
Raymond Dale McIntyre, 28, is facing charges of flight to avoid apprehension, fleeing from police, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and four summary traffic violations.
State police alerted city officers that Raymond McIntyre, 28, was wanted on a warrant from Clarion County Probation and had threatened “suicide by cop,” according to a news release.
His passenger, Brooke Kathleen Reed, 32, of Clarion, also was taken into custody and charged with drug offenses.
Residents of Zenith Road in Butler Township, where the chase ended, reported seeing numerous police vehicles and officers arrive and take two people into custody in the backyard of a vacant home on the dead-end street.
A resident who did not wish to be identified said the vehicle that police chased nearly hit the vacant home.
“I’ve never seen so many police in all my life,” the resident said.
Butler County emergency dispatch notified Butler City police just Thursday evening that the vehicle McIntyre was reported to be driving had activated a license plate reader at the intersection of West Cunningham and Pillow streets, according to an affidavit.
State police in Clarion County had issued an alert Thursday morning to be on the lookout for McIntyre, who was wanted on two warrants from that county.
Patrolman Michael Sulerud located the vehicle, a Dodge Journey with a Georgia license plate, parked on the bottom level of the Centre City parking garage and saw two people in the vehicle. He ordered the driver to turn off the vehicle, but the vehicle backed out of the parking space, according to the affidavit.
Sulerud activated his emergency lights and siren, and the vehicle traveled on to South Cedar Street then turned right and began traveling the wrong way on the one-way East Jefferson Street, according to the affidavit.
The ensuing pursuit led to Zenith Road in Butler Township where the vehicle traveled off the road and into a residential yard, where it went into a ditch and became disabled, according to the affidavit. McIntyre and Reed were then taken into custody.
The car was towed from Zenith Road. Police said there were no collisions during the fleeing attempt and no one was injured.
Butler Township police and state police assisted.
During the pursuit, McIntyre failed to yield, drove the wrong way on a one-way street, failed to stop at numerous stop signs, didn’t use a turn signal, drove in excess of 60 mph in a 25 mph zone, drove into a yard and cut off numerous vehicles, according to the affidavit.
During an initial search of the vehicle, a small black cloth bag containing 8 grams of suspected methamphetamine was found on the driver’s seat, according to the affidavit.
The search was stopped, and the vehicle was towed to the city police station until a search warrant was obtained and executed. Police then found six suboxone strips, a digital scale, plastic bags, a suspected methamphetamine pill and $1,940, according to the affidavit.
Reed, who also is being held on $10,000 bail, is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a related conspiracy charge and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Preliminary hearings for McIntyre and Reed have not been scheduled.
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