Published: November 05, 2009 12:04 am      

High-speed chase ends with arrest of Keyser man

Suspect allegedly assaulted mother, stole car

FROSTBURG — A Keyser, W.Va., man was arrested following a high-speed chase on U.S. Route 40 that began at Clarysville and ended at Kemp Drive west of Frostburg early Wednesday afternoon. The chase occurred after Kent Winston Redman, 24, allegedly took the car from his mother at a Keyser car wash.

Allegany County Bureau of Police Officer Israel Sibley arrested Redman at about 2 p.m. without incident after pursuing the vehicle for several miles on U.S. 40.

Redman was reportedly clocked traveling at 90 mph by Sibley, who was traveling on U.S. 40 in the opposite direction in a marked police cruiser when Redman sped past him. Redman was finally stopped after being “boxed in” by Sibley and a Maryland Natural Resources Police officer.

Frostburg Police Department also assisted in the pursuit along with Maryland State Police. Traffic reportedly slowed the pursuit as the suspect drove on Main Street through Frostburg.

In Allegany County, Redman was charged with exceeding the maximum speed by 45 mph, reckless driving, failure to drive right of center, unsafe lane changing, driving on a suspended out-of-state license and attempting to elude police by failing to stop.

Keyser Police Officer Paul Sabin said a warrant was being sought to charge Redman with first-degree robbery in connection with the incident at the Keyser Car Wash on Mineral Street at about 1:30 p.m.

Sabin said Redman was inside his mother’s 1997 Ford Taurus at the car wash after they had “run some errands.”

“He (Redman) doesn’t have a license and then demanded that his mother give him the vehicle to drive. He threatened her and she attempted to calm him down before he finally grabbed the keys from her, pushed her out of the vehicle and then drove off,” said Sabin.

The victim apparently was not injured.

Bureau of Police Chief J. Robert Dick said, “I’m glad our officer was on patrol in the area and was able to make the arrest without further incident and without citizens being further endangered. The suspect was operating the stolen vehicle at an extremely high speed, in a reckless manner and endangering citizens. Our officer was not aware of the crime that had occurred in Keyser at the time all of this took place.”

Dick also said the “cooperation of assisting agencies” factored in the arrest. “That kind of cooperation is not unusual for our area,” he said.