OSWEGO, NY — A 37-year-old Auburn man faces multiple charges after leading police on a chase through downtown Oswego early Friday morning.
Oswego Police officers observed a tan 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck operating recklessly and passing a red light westbound on West Bridge Street at West Second Street at approximately 2:09 a.m. May 9.
Officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver, later identified as Andrew P. Jones, of Auburn, refused to stop.
Jones drove in an increasingly hazardous manner, driving in opposing lanes of travel, passing other traffic and failing to stop for red lights at an unsafe speed, police said.
Jones made multiple passes through the downtown corridor, which was heavily populated with pedestrians.
Due to the increasing level of reckless behavior, officers terminated the pursuit and shifted their priority to keeping pedestrians safely out of the roadway and attempting to stop Jones through the deployment of stop sticks.
While police were attempting to keep pedestrians safe, Jones began doing “burnouts” in multiple intersections, police said.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Department responded to assist and was able to re-initiate the pursuit.
At one point, Jones drove his vehicle directly toward an Oswego County Deputy Sheriff’s sergeant who was out of his vehicle attempting to deploy stop sticks, police said.
At approximately 2:52 a.m., Jones pulled his truck into the parking lot of Byrne Dairy, where his vehicle was immediately surrounded by law enforcement.
Jones surrendered without further incident.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
Jones was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree, driving while impaired by drugs, reckless driving and 27 other traffic violations.
Jones is in police custody pending arraignment in Oswego County CAP Court, and his vehicle has been impounded.
