Police in one part of Schuylkill County say they were able to track down a reported stolen vehicle but struggled with the suspect to get him into custody.
According to a court document filed by Shenandoah Police Dept., a dispatch was received on Jan. 7, at about 3:30 p.m. for a reported stolen vehicle on W. Mount Vernon St. in the borough. When police arrived, they spoke with a woman was visiting friends there.
The woman told police that on the day prior, at about 7 p.m., she allowed Travis Beaver, 25, of Nuremberg, to use her red Dodge Caravan but gave instructions that he was to return it in two hours. Beaver allegedly agreed to these terms. However, the woman said Beaver never returned the vehicle.
She only called police after contacting Beaver by phone on the 7th and him telling her that he wasn’t going to return the van.
Police called the business that sold the vehicle and learned that the van had a GPS tracker on it, leading police to an address on Main St. in Zion Grove. They eventually spotted the vehicle there in a driveway.
At that driveway, police say they were approached by a woman who told them that Beaver was inside her home and that they had permission to go inside and contact him. The woman went to her basement door, police say, and entered the home.
A lot of commotion could be heard inside the home, police say, after the woman entered, so they decided to approach. Upon approaching the basement door, Patrolman Mark Hysock said the basement door swung open and Beaver tried emerging from it. But when Beaver saw police, they say he went back inside the house.
Hysock said he chased Beaver in the house and up the basement stairs to the first floor. Beaver then allegedly tried to exit the home through the front door but was unsuccessful so he made a dash for the back door.
While passing the basement door to the back door, Hysock said Beaver shoved the basement door, hitting him. That’s when Hysock said he used his Taser in an attempt to stop Hysock but the first deployment didn’t work. Beaver got away, exiting through the rear entrance and onto Main St., engaging police in a foot pursuit.
A second Taser deployment was used. That was slightly more successful as police said it slowed Beaver down just enough for them to catch up to him. As Beaver was tackled to the ground, police said Beaver resisted being arrested, refusing to roll over onto his stomach and get placed in handcuffs.
The struggled continued until Patrolman Leo Luciani caught up to it and eventually, after a bit more of a struggle, Beaver was in custody.
While in custody, police learned that Beaver had a DUI-suspended driver’s license and had a prior conviction for the same violation. He also had five prior convictions for driving on a suspended license.
Beaver was also wanted by Mahanoy City Police and had active warrants from Northumberland and Columbia counties.
For this incident, Beaver is now facing additional felony charges of aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property, and flight to avoid apprehension. Police are filing several other misdemeanors against Beaver.
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