Man Sentenced For Role In Dangerous Police Chase

A 19-year-old Bristol Township man was sentenced Tuesday to six to 20 years in prison for his role in a nearly unbelievable incident earlier this year that left four police officers hurt.

Zahkeldrick Hunt brandished a .45 caliber Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun earlier this year as he ran past a police officer following a wild two-mile police chase that went on numerous area roads.

Prior to being sentenced, Hunt pleaded guilty or no contest to numerous charges, including theft charges, fleeing or attempting to elude police, simple assault and a firearm felony, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.

Following the police chase and crash in the area of Runway Road and Green Lane Hunt in Bristol Township on February 15, Hunt fled the car and pulled the handgun as he ran. Officer Jason Mancuso pulled up as Hunt held the handgun and pulled his duty weapon. At that point, Hunt fell and dropped the handgun. He was tackled as he got up and tried to flee again.

“I was about to shoot him … I was glad it ended without any major injuries,” Mancuso testified.

“Were you concerned about dying that day?” Deputy District Attorney Thomas Gannon asked the officer.

“At that point, yes, I was,” Mancuso replied.

The district attorney’s office said the handgun’s serial number was removed from the weapon and Hunt had no permit to legally carry the firearm. In addition, a juvenile record for robbery prohibited him from legally possessing a firearm.

The dangerous incident started in the early afternoon when Hunt and Rodney Beaty, 27, of Philadelphia, were cruising around in a 2012 Hyundai Sonata that was stolen the previous day from a gas station along Veterans Highway (Route 413). The vehicle was stolen by Beaty with help from Hunt, authorities said.

After police began following the Hyundai, Beaty blew through traffic signals as officers from multiple departments joined in the chase. The chased reached high speeds, left a police car damaged after a crash with a civilian’s Jeep and ended with the crash.

Hunt’s attorney, Sara Webster, argued in court that he was acting “impulsively” after getting involved with the wrong crowd. His mother, an employee of the Department of Homeland Security, said her fell into peer pressure.

“I realize nobody’s got my back but the people in this courtroom,” Hunt said, apologizing to police.

“This is just lawlessness,” Judge Raymond McHugh said. “This is about a theft of an automobile, and then, the next day, riding around in a stolen car, armed to the hilt.”

“It isn’t hard to figure out that you could be dead.”

Beaty and a third 18-year-old defendant are still awaiting court dates.