New Details Reveal What Allegedly Led to High-Speed Pursuit That Ended at Saint Clair Walmart

New details on the multi-state high-speed pursuit that ended in Saint Clair Sunday afternoon have come to light after police filed charges against two of the four people allegedly involved.

Kadence Gooch, 18, and a juvenile male only known as BTW. were apprehended soon after the stolen pickup they were in became disabled in an area near the Walmart in Saint Clair on Sunday afternoon. Two others who were in the vehicle during a high-speed chase that started in Dauphin County remain on the lam.

One of those fugitives is Jeremiah Begley, 17, and another is believed to go by the first name Chris, according to affidavits filed against Gooch and Begley in a Dauphin County District Court. The three known suspects are all from Kingsport, Tenn.

Gooch and Begley are facing a host of charges, including attempted homicide. 

Begley and “Chris” are believed to have run from the disabled vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and dashed into the store. Police say they stole clothing in an attempt to alter their appearance and left Walmart via an emergency exit. 

On Tuesday, State Police released an updated image of Begley and “Chris” from inside Walmart. Begley is wearing a Nirvana T-shirt that police say he stole from the store. They asked anyone from Saint Clair to New Philadelphia to give them security video footage they might have of these two making their way from the scene in Saint Clair. 

Both were the focus of a day-long manhunt on Sunday. State and local police pursued leads on the ground while at least one, and sometimes two, State Police helicopters circled above the Saint Clair area for much of the afternoon and night.

The affidavits filed against Gooch and Begley reveal much more detail on the events that led to the incident in Saint Clair on Sunday.

According to police, the incident really started when they received a report of a person in a red pickup truck on Interstate 81 in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, had rolled down their window and pointed a gun at her and other motorists. 

Police picked up the trail of that pickup truck in West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, and initiated a traffic stop on I-81. The truck stopped on the shoulder of the roadway. It was identified as a 2020 Toyota Tundra with an Oklahoma registration. 

During that traffic stop, the driver of the truck hit the gas and sped off from police. At times, police say the truck topped speeds of 100 mph. It sped off I-81 onto Manor Drive in West Hanover Township. 

Passengers inside the pickup truck, according to police, then opened the rear cab window and began firing multiple rounds from pistols in the direction of pursuing Troopers. One State Police patrol vehicle was struck in the headlight. Later, police say they recovered three shell casings from that scene.

As the pursuit continued, the truck got back on I-81 and drove north until it exited at Frackville. The truck then went on Route 61-South, toward the Walmart in Saint Clair. 

All four people inside the vehicle got out and ran after it became disabled near the Coal Creek Commerce Center lot. 

Police say during the final stretch of the pursuit, four guns were recovered. Within a half-mile of the Frackville exit of I-81 on Route 61, they found an HK MP5 .22LR rifle. A few hundred feet from that, police say the found a Sig Sauer P365 with an extended magazine.  At the shopping center, police say they found a Glock 19 9mm in he bushes behind Dunkin’. An HK P30 .40-caliber was found in the same general area.

Back at the Frackville barracks, Gooch reportedly told police he was the driver during the entire pursuit. He told police that he handled the guns that were discarded but did not shoot. Gooch also reportedly identified one of the fugitives as Begley and said he only knew the unknown person as “Chris”.

The second apprehended subject is identified by police as BTW. BTW reportedly confirmed to police that Gooch drove the entirety of the pursuit. He also said that the guns and pickup were stolen by “Chris”.

BTW also reportedly told police that it was “Chris” and Begley who fired shots at police, using the Sig Sauer and Glock. He also told police that he didn’t fire the weapons during the pursuit. BTW did apparently admit to police that all four inside the truck were waving the guns randomly at passing motorists. 

BTW also reportedly said that he didn’t know who waved the gun at the motorist who first reported this activity to police in Cumberland County. He said he didn’t know because they were sure where they were at the time, as in what state they were in then. BTW said they all thought they were in Massachusetts.

On Saturday night, BTW said he and the others went to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to break into vehicles but only came away with $15 that night. While in Pigeon Forge, BTW told police that he and the others went to a Waffle House and waved the guns around that restaurant. 

He then reportedly told police that they decided to go to Florida to break into vehicles, believing there were richer people there. However, they changed their minds and decided to go to Connecticut instead. 

Police say they made contact with the registered owner of the pickup truck used in Sunday’s pursuit, a Knoxville, Tenn., man. He told police that he last saw his vehicle on Feb. 19 when he left it parked at his home. At the time he talked to police, the truck owner said he was in Oklahoma and used a different vehicle to get there. He had no idea that his truck was stolen and he hadn’t given anyone permission to drive it.

Gooch was arraigned before District Magistrate Judge Dale Klein on Monday morning. Police have charged him with multiple felony charges, chief among them is attempted homicide. He’s also facing multiple felonies for receiving stolen property, carrying a loaded weapon, and fleeing police. He’s also been charged with three counts of misdemeanor simple assault and a single count of reckless endangerment, along several summary traffic offenses.

Begley remains at large but charges of attempted homicide, receiving stolen property, and aggravated assault are awaiting him. 

Klein denied bail for Gooch.

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