Credit: Neal K Sanderson
A Philadelphia man who fled from Falls Township police and was involved in a chase that left an officer seriously hurt was sentenced to state prison.
Wayne Whitley, 40, admitted to felony counts of forgery, access device fraud and fleeing a police officer in the July 7 incident. He also copped to several lesser offenses, including corruption of minors and recklessly endangering another person. Judge Raymond McHugh sentenced him to serve three to eight years in state prison, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
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Whitley attempted to use a fake driver’s license to while signing up for a credit card at the Best Buy of Commerce Boulevard. Once a clerk said they were calling police, Whitley fled the store and was spotted as Officer Stephanie Metterle saw his black Jeep in the parking lot.
The officer gave chase and was involved in a three-vehicle crash at North Oxford Valley Road and Commerce Boulevard. Metterle’s battered police cruiser was off the road and she had to be taken to St. Mary Medical Center’s Trauma Center. Assistant District Attorney Jovin Jose said the officer is still recovering from her injuries.
Whitley had two juvenile girls in his Jeep at the time of the incident. One of the girls had been reported missing from New Jersey.
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Whitley’s attorney, Sharif Abaza, filed a motion after sentencing asking McHugh to reconsider the sentence.
Kenneth Blake, 28, and Arius Haynes, 37, both of Philadelphia, were arrested in connection to the incident in July, but all charges against the men were later dismissed, according to court records.
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