Credit: Middletown Township police
A man crashed his vehicle after fleeing from Middletown Township police last week, according to court papers.
Last Thursday afternoon, a man in a blue Toyota Camry with tail light out was pulled over just off East Lincoln Highway in front of the Burlington Coat Factory after an officer’s automatic license plate reader pinged on the vehicle being linked to a wanted person, police said.
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The officer came up to the vehicle operator and he identified himself as Evan, but further investigation uncovered his real name was Russell Walt Chmieleski, 34, of Levittown, police said.
The large tattoo on Chmieleski’s neck helped identify him, police said.
Once Chmieleski heard his real identity had been discovered, he sped away eastbound and officers followed. Two women were in Chmieleski’s Toyota, police said.
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In court papers, an officer described Chmieleski’s Toyota flying past several cars as he drove toward Oxford Valley Road. He ended up striking the median and the vehicle became “inoperable.”
Chmieleski fled on foot and ran into the wooded area near the Wawa on Oxford Valley Road before being captured, police said.
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Falls Township officers assisted Middletown officers at the scene, including detaining the two woman who were in the vehicle, police said.
Officers reported finding suspected methadone, heroin, and drug paraphernalia, police said.
Chmieleski was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude and officer, possession of a controlled substance, use/possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, careless driving, and related traffic offenses. On-call District Judge Robert Wagner Jr. arraigned the 34 year old and he was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $100,000.
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According to court records, Chmieleski had a pending case for false identification to law enforcement from October 2019. Following his arrest last week, his bail in that case was set at 10 percent of $20,000.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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