By JOHN M. HOOBER III, Staff
A car sped away from Lancaster police late Wednesday night on North Prince Street, and the fleeing occupants tossed a loaded shotgun out of the car during a lengthy pursuit, officers said.
Police eventually stopped the car on North Marshall Street, near New Holland Avenue, after the driver allegedly went through three red lights.
Four males, who are in their mid-to-late teens, jumped out of the car and fled on foot. All were quickly apprehended, police said.
The alleged driver, Nathan Alexander Lewis, 18, of the 600 block of East Madison Street, is being charged with fleeing/attempting to elude police, escape, recklessly endangering another person, three red-light violations, and driving under suspension, Officer Gareth R. Lowe Jr. reported.
The three passengers, Jarvis Jermaine Jamison Jr., 18, of the 800 block of Ocean Avenue; a 17-year-old East Madison Street boy; and a 16-year-old South Franklin Street boy, are being charged with escape and recklessly endangering another person, police said.
Police said the pursuit began at 10:52 p.m. after Lowe and Officer Randall Zook spotted suspicious activity inside a green Dodge Intrepid on North Prince Street, near West Lemon Street.
Lewis refused to stop and sped away from marked and unmarked police vehicles, Lowe said. He drove more than 55 mph and swerved in and out of traffic on narrow streets, forcing other drivers and pedestrians to get out of his way, police said.
Lewis drove through red lights at East King and Lime streets, East King and Plum streets, and North Plum and East Walnut streets, Lowe said.
In the first block of North Plum Street, the occupants of the fleeing car threw a loaded Mossberg 20-gauge shotgun onto the street, police said.
"There were several children where the loaded gun was thrown," Lowe noted.
In other police incidents:
• Ephrata police said drug use was the apparent cause of a one-vehicle crash early Wednesday afternoon on Royer Road, near Rothsville Road, in Ephrata Township.
Roxann Lee Refi, 22, of the 2100 block of West Main Street, Ephrata, was driving north in the 100 block of Royer Road when her 1998 Ford Windstar minivan left the road at 12:30 p.m., Officer Scott Martin said.
The van struck a speed limit sign, crossed both lanes of travel and struck a utility pole, which knocked out cable television service in the area, Martin said.
Refi was not injured, but police found multiple items of drug paraphernalia in her vehicle, Martin said. The woman was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and for suspected driving under the influence of intoxicants, police said.
• West Hempfield Township police are investigating vehicle break-ins that happened late Tuesday night in the 1600 block of Stanley Avenue, Landisville, which is near Stony Battery Road.
Four people found items missing from their cars at 1:29 a.m. Wednesday, Officer Douglas Ober said. The break-ins happened a few hours prior to the discovery time, police learned.
The stolen items included money, a laptop computer and a Canon digital camera. They were taken from cars belonging to Lee Tomassetti, of Gap; Katie McMichael, of Manheim; Amanda Jeffries, of Lititz; and Tonya Kauffman, of Manheim, police said.
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call West Hempfield police at 285-5191.
• A 28-year-old woman told Lancaster police that seven plants in hanging baskets or pots were stolen Tuesday night from a porch in the 900 block of Columbia Avenue.
The total loss was $226. The plants were stolen between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, police were told.
Staff writer John M. Hoober III can be reached at jhoober@LNPnews.com or 481-6027.
