Va. man charged in Washington County after police chase Sunday

July 02, 2008|By ERIN JULIUS

A Virginia man was being held Tuesday at the Washington County Detention Center after Maryland Department of Natural Resources police followed him Sunday through Allegany and Washington counties.

John William Holsinger, 49, of 150 N. Union St. in Alexandria, Va., was charged with false imprisonment and other crimes.

DNR police in Allegany County received a call from Maryland State Police about a possible intoxicated driver, DNR spokesman Sgt. Ken Turner said.

Maryland State Police did not have a trooper in the area, so DNR found the Toyota Tundra about which police had received complaints, Turner said.

DNR officers found the vehicle heading west at the Washington County line on Interstate 68 and followed it into Washington County, he said.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle, which was traveling much faster than the DNR's pickup trucks, Turner said.

The DNR later received information from Maryland State Police that the Toyota crashed while exiting Interstate 70 in the area of Md. 56 at Big Pool, he said.

Troopers were first at the scene.

The driver was sitting behind the steering wheel and began flailing his arms and attempting to get out of the vehicle, troopers wrote in charging documents. As a trooper was talking to Holsinger, the man made fists with both of his hands and appeared as though he was going to throw a punch, officers allege in court documents.

Officers subdued Holsinger with pepper spray, and he resisted as officers tried to put him in handcuffs, troopers alleged in a press release.

Holsinger was taken to Washington County Hospital for treatment of a cut on his head and was released from the emergency room Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday afternoon.

The DNR charged Holsinger with driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, negligent driving, reckless driving, attempting to elude police and other crimes. Maryland State Police charged him with false imprisonment, failure to obey, second-degree assault and other crimes.

He was being held Tuesday night at the Washington County Detention Center on $10,000 bond, a spokesman there said.

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