Newbie Man Busted for Fleeing Police in Brookville

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published June 19, 2020 4:30 am
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BROOKVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — A New Bethlehem man is facing charges after he reportedly fled police as they were attempting a traffic stop in Brookville Borough.

Court documents indicate the Brookville Borough Police Department on Tuesday, June 16, filed criminal charges against 36-year-old Jacob Clark Seth.

According to a criminal complaint, around 12:15 a.m. on Monday, June 15, Brookville Borough Police were checking doors on Main Street when a red/maroon sedan with a loud exhaust came down Main Street at a high rate of speed.

A man stopped and told the officers that the car that was speeding on Main Street had been sitting beside the police vehicle by the Jefferson County Courthouse, flashing its lights off and on, and the officers then returned to check their police vehicle for possible tampering, but found none.

The driver of the vehicle “flipped off” the officers as the vehicle passed them on Main Street, the complaint notes.

The officers then began a patrol of the area.

According to the complaint, as they went past Horton Way, a vehicle parked in the alley with its lights on pulled out and followed the patrol vehicle to Valley Street. The patrol vehicle made a left onto Main Street, and the other vehicle turned right, then started to accelerate, and the officers noted the loud exhaust and saw it was a red/maroon vehicle matching the vehicle that had been speeding on Main Street. The officers then turned around and caught up to the vehicle, then activated the overhead lights to initiate a traffic stop.

The vehicle slowed down and almost came to a stop, then activated its left turn signal. It then turned down the on-ramp for State Route 28 to Main Street (US 322) going the wrong way. The officers followed and activated the patrol vehicle’s siren in an attempt to get the vehicle to stop, the complaint states.

The vehicle accelerated to a high rate of speed, traveling at approximately 74 miles per hour, then slowed to approximately 58 miles per hour in the area of South Main Street.

The officers reached the area near the self-storage buildings are located on State Route 28 in Rose Township, Jefferson County, when they were advised that Chief Vince Markle wanted the pursuit to be terminated. They turned off the patrol vehicle’s lights and siren and turned around, then returned to Brookville Borough, according to the complaint.

Jefferson County Control ran the registration on the vehicle and found it came back as a dead tag, with no information. The officers then proceeded to Sheetz to check for possible video of the vehicle in case it happened to be there prior to the incident; however, no images of the vehicle were found.

According to the complaint, a later search of the vehicle’s displayed registration under temporary registrations found it belonged to a car dealership in Saegertown. Police then contacted the dealership and spoke to an employee who searched their records and determined the registration was provided to Jacob C. Seth, of New Bethlehem.

A search through PennDOT then found Seth’s current address and showed that his driver’s license is currently suspended for driving under the influence.

Police then contacted Seth by phone.

Seth stated he was not driving his vehicle in Brookville at the time of the incident and reported that another known man was driving his vehicle.

The known man was interviewed and was subsequently ruled out as the driver of the vehicle. The man reported that he drove Seth’s vehicle, which he confirmed was a purple/maroon Saturn sedan, earlier in the night in Brookville. But, he had left around 8:00 p.m. then dropped Seth off at his residence and returned home by midnight. The known man’s height and general size also did not match the driver seen in the vehicle, the complaint indicates.

Seth was brought to the Brookville Police Department by Chief Markle on June 16 where he was seen by one of the officers involved in the pursuit. He was positively identified as the suspect driving the vehicle, according to the complaint.

Seth was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16, on the following charges:

– Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Officer, Misdemeanor 2
– Driving License Suspended/Revoked Pursuant to Section 3802/1547B1, Summary
– Careless Driving, Summary
– Drive Wrong Way, Summary
– Driving at Safe Speed, Summary
– Operate/Permit Operation With Unsafe Equipment, Summary

Unable to post $50,000.00 monetary bail, he was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. on July 2, with Judge Bazylak presiding.

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