An Indianapolis man was arrested after police say he led them on a chase through central Johnson County in a stolen car Tuesday afternoon.
Joshua Michael Sebek, 28, of Indianapolis, was arrested on charges of possession of stolen property and resisting law enforcement, both felonies; and possession of paraphernalia, reckless driving and resisting law enforcement, all misdemeanors. The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office will decide what, if any, charges to file.
A Franklin police officer observed a red car matching the description of a stolen vehicle traveling northbound on U.S. 31 near Paul Hand Boulevard/County Road 400 North at around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday. Franklin police were notified by the FLOCK license plate reader system the car was traveling southbound on U.S. 31 near Simon Road earlier that day. Police were not able to locate it after the initial notification, according to a Franklin Police Department report.
The officer made a U-turn to catch up to the vehicle, eventually doing so at a red light on Whiteland Road. The officer observed three people inside the car. The people were not initially wearing seatbelts but put them on, seemingly, after noticing the patrol car behind them, according to the report.
The officer activated his emergency lights and followed the car when the light turned green. The car speed up and ran from the officers, eventually reaching speeds up to 100 miles per hour, the report says.
The car fled northbound on U.S 31 through Whiteland and New Whiteland and ran a red light before entering Greenwood. Once in Greenwood, it continued north, passing Worthsville Road before it approached dense traffic near Stop 18 Road. The driver passed the traffic by driving on the shoulder at a high rate of speed, according to the report.
The stolen vehicle continued north toward Madison Avenue, where Greenwood police had shut down the intersection with U.S. 31 and deployed stop sticks. The driver tried to get around traffic by swerving to the far left lane where it rear-ended another car, the report says.
The driver got out of the car and began running west across U.S. 31 towards Rural King. The two passengers exited the car and walked northbound, where they were later taken into custody. Both passengers denied knowing the vehicle was stolen and said the driver — who one of the passengers identified as Sebek — had picked them up to take them to locations in Johnson County, the report says.
Officers from Clark-Pleasant, Greenwood and Whiteland police chased Sebek on foot and apprehended him near Rural King, according to a report from Whiteland police.
Sebek declined to speak to police, who later informed him he was going to be taken to jail because he was driving a stolen vehicle, according to the police report. The vehicle was confirmed to be stolen from Indianapolis, the report says.
When police searched the car, they found a glass pipe that smelled of burnt marijuana, and also found several clear and clean baggies and a clean scale, the report says.
The car that was rear-ended by Sebek was towed from the scene, and his passengers were released from custody. Officers from Clark-Pleasant, Greenwood, New Whiteland and Whiteland police also assisted, the report says.
Sebek was taken to the Johnson County jail on a $4,400 bond.
