FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Fayette County man faces up to half a decade behind bars after fleeing police on a motorcycle in the fall of last year.
According to Prosecuting Attorney for Fayette County, Anthony Ciliberti, Jr., on October 14, 2023, a red motorcycle was observed by members of the Oak Hill Police Department to have run a stop sign at the Berry Street/Terry Avenue intersection in Oak Hill. Authorities attempted to conduct a traffic stop at which point the driver of the motorcycle began fleeing police, initiating a high-speed chase.
Authorities have indicated that there was also a passenger aboard the motorcycle at the time of the incident. Through details provided to law enforcement by private citizens, it was determined that the motorcycle had been making its way to Fayetteville on Gatewood Road when it turned onto Cunard Road.
The motorcycle is said to have been located shortly after at the back side of a Cunard residence. The occupants of this residence confirmed that one occupant had been a passenger on the motorcycle at the time the driver had been fleeing police, and that the driver nearly crashed the vehicle multiple times over the course of the incident.
41-year-old Joshua Pittman of Fayetteville, WV was identified as the driver of the motorcycle. On August 29, 2024, Pittman went before Circuit Judge Paul M. Blake, Jr., with regard to the incident in question.
Pittman plead guilty to the offense of fleeing with reckless indifference on July 12, 2024, and was sentenced last month by Judge Blake to a minimum of one and a maximum of five years in prison for the felony offense of Fleeing in a Vehicle with Reckless Indifference. As part of the sentencing, Pittman will be required to serve one year minimum in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Jennifer D. Crane prosecuted the case, while members of the Oak Hill Police Department investigated the crime.
