MOUNT HOPE, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Mount Hope man was arrested after allegedly trying to run a woman off the road, pointing a gun at her, and leading police on a multi-agency pursuit that ended in a crash, according to Chief S.M. Jasper of the Mount Hope Police Department.
The incident unfolded around 5:37 p.m. on November 6, 2025, when a black SUV stopped near the Mount Hope Fire Department, and the driver told Chief Jasper that a white Monte Carlo had attempted to force her vehicle off the road. She said the driver, a white male, pulled a gun on her after she stopped.
Chief Jasper spotted the Monte Carlo behind her and immediately turned to initiate a stop, activating his emergency lights. The driver sped away toward the Midtown Terrace Apartments, prompting the chief to radio Fayette County E-911 and request backup.
Knowing the complex had only one exit, Jasper waited for additional units at the entrance. The Monte Carlo reportedly circled the apartments twice before stopping within a foot of the chief’s cruiser. When Jasper approached and ordered the driver out, the man — later identified as Robert Nathaniel Gowins — allegedly raised a black Taurus G2s pistol before speeding onto the grass, running a stop sign, and nearly hitting another vehicle.
Jasper pursued, but briefly lost sight of the suspect. Multiple agencies joined the search. A West Virginia Division of Protective Services unit eventually spotted Gowins traveling at a high rate of speed on Packs Branch. Moments later, officers were notified that Gowins had crashed his vehicle near Packs Branch Baptist Church, just past the railroad tracks.
Gowins was taken into custody at the scene and read his Miranda rights. When brought into the Mount Hope Police Department, he reportedly kicked Chief Jasper in the leg before being transported by Patrolman W.M. Jackson to Plateau Medical Center for evaluation and then to Southern Regional Jail.
The woman later provided a written statement, telling officers that Gowins tried to run her and her child off the road, then approached her SUV and tapped his pistol on her vehicle before fleeing.
The incident occurred within Mount Hope city limits in Fayette County.
