A Schuylkill County man wanted for allegedly holding a handgun to a woman’s head earlier this month was apprehended last week after leading police on a foot chase through the woods, police say.
Thomas M. Kelly, 40, of Norwegian Township, was taken into custody at about 6:30 p.m. on April 14 after police responded to a call for service on New St. Police say a witness told them Kelly was inside a residence there, prompting Troopers to establish a perimeter around the home.
Kelly exited the rear of the residence on foot and ran into the woods, ignoring commands to stop, police say. Police chased Kelly through the woods for about 300 yards before apprehending him.
During a search following his arrest, police say they found a white glassine bag labeled “Venom,” a clear Ziploc bag, and a $1 bill containing residue in Kelly’s pants pockets.
Kelly had an active arrest warrant stemming from an April 1 incident at a home on New St. in Norwegian Township. In that incident, Kelly allegedly racked the slide of a 9mm handgun, pressed the weapon to a woman’s face, and threatened to shoot her.
A subsequent search of the home related to that prior incident yielded a 9mm pistol with no serial number, suspected methamphetamine, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and 21 fraudulent Pennsylvania inspection stickers, police say.
For the prior incident, Kelly faces a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, simple assault, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and numerous counts related to the fraudulent inspection stickers.
In addition to those charges, Kelly is now facing felony counts of flight to avoid apprehension, evading police on foot, and possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned on both sets of charges on April 14 before Senior Magisterial District Judge Edward Lewis, who set bail at $50,000 straight in relation to the April 1 incident and 10% of $50,000 for the charges related to his attempted fleeing on foot.
Kelly was remanded to Schuylkill County Prison. A preliminary hearing for both cases is scheduled for April 28 before Lewis.
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