Two Charged In Connection With Incident That Led To Crash

Two Philadelphia residents are under arrest after an attempted forgery was stopped by management at Best Buy in Fairless Hills.

Kenneth Blake, 28, and Arius Haynes, 37, have been arrested in connection with an incident that led a police chase that left a Falls Township police officer and civilian injured.

Officer Stephanie Metterle, the officer injured in the chase, was dispatched to the store to respond to a man attempting to receive a credit card using fraudulent information shortly afte 6:30 Thursday. When she arrived, she located the car with a suspect inside, who was fleeing the scene. According to police, she tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the black jeep sped away toward Route 1.

The chase led to North Oxford Valley Road, where the officer was involved in a three-vehicle crash. According to police, the Jeep fled the area successfully.

Store employees found the unidentified driver of the Jeep was trying to use a fraudulent driver’s license to receive a credit card. Multiple employees determined the card to be fraudulent and the man was told that the police were being contacted, which is when he fled the scene.

While officers were investigating at the Best Buy, they came into contact with the co-defendents, who claimed that the unidentified man had stolen Hayne’s car. Haynes claims that the two met the unidentified man shortly before the incident at Best Buy, the report states. The two defendants agreed to give a statement at the police station.

According to that interview, the two met the man not far from the Best Buy. He offered the duo $20 to give him a ride to the Best Buy. Haynes let him drive the car and he took the car after fleeing the store. The criminal complaint notes that the duo were being deceptive during their interview.

At the scene, officers came into contact with two females who were with the group that came to Best Buy. One of the females was 15, and reported as a missing at risk teenager from Millstone Township, New Jersey. According to these individuals, the entire group left from one location in North Philadelphia before arriving at the Best Buy.

The driver of the Jeep was not in custody as of Friday afternoon.

Haynes and Blake are both being charged with three felonies regarding identity theft and forgery. They are also being charged with a number of misdemeanors including four charges of recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of children, tampering with official records and corrupting minors.

Bail for Haynes and Blake was set at 10 percent of $500,000, and both are being held in county jail.

Metterle was taken to St. Mary Medical Center’s trauma center in serious condition. A civilian was transported to the hospital in unknown condition.

The condition of the two was not released Friday evening.