DEWITT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — New information on the police chase of a stolen police car on February 20. FOX 47 News has obtained the report from a Bath Township Police Officer who joined the search last week.
Bath Township Officer Trenton Bailey answered the call for help when one of the men suspected of stealing a TV from the DeWitt Meijer bailed out of the getaway car. His dashboard camera was rolling when he found the suspect crouched next to an unoccupied DeWitt City Police Cruiser.
Officer Bailey's report obtained by FOX 47 News says he tried to get the suspect, Timothy Vanous, to move to the back of the cruiser, and away from the loaded gun inside.
He says Vanous appeared to be on drugs; he was sweaty and acting erratically. That sweat made it impossible for Bailey to get a good grip when Vanous tried to get into the driver's seat. After a brief struggle in which punches were exchanged, Vanous hit the gas.
Bailey ran back to his car and chased Vanous south on Turner Road, then east on State Road, and south on Old 27 towards Lansing.
Vanous ran several red lights and Officer Bailey says he had trouble keeping up. Once he got into Lansing he let other police take the lead because he didn't know the area as well.
Authorities eventually found and arrested Vanous after he crashed the patrol car into a guard rail and got stuck on the railroad tracks on Edison Avenue.
Police used a stun gun on Vanous because he was frantically reaching between and under the seats. Police think he was trying to grab a stolen gun that was later found on the floor of the stolen police cruiser.
The other suspect, Joshua Lauer, was briefly able to get away, but was later arrested at a home in Lansing. Thursday in court he was bound over for trial. He's been charged with carrying a concealed weapon, fleeing and eluding, and driving on a suspended license.
Timothy Vanous faces 13 charges including carjacking. He's due back in court on March 7.
