A man accused a ramming a woman’s vehicle as she tried to speed away from him during a car chase has been hit with three charges.
Jason James McKeon, 34, has been charged with theft of property under $10,000, aggravated domestic assault with a vehicle, and reckless endangerment.
According to warrants for McKeon’s arrest, the high-speed chase took place July 13 when he was passed by a female driving on Bybee Branch Road. When McKeon recognized the driver, he “came out behind her at a high rate of speed,” the warrant says.
The female made a couple quick turns and eventually turned into an apartment complex in an effort to elude McKeon. However, she couldn’t give him the shake and he continued to follow her at high speeds. Eventually he was able to pull up beside her and hit her vehicle while they were driving.
The victim was finally able to escape by running a stop sign and calling 911 as soon as she was a safe distance away.
That incident reportedly followed a theft where McKeon stole a 1989 Chevrolet van from the Walmart parking lot around 7 a.m. that same day. The victim in this unrelated case said he noticed his stolen van parked on a trailer attached to a flatbed truck in a driveway on Peers Street.
The victim asked the driver of the flatbed, identified as McKeon, why he had his van. McKeon reportedly stated he was driving the van to West End Avenue to unload it and did just that. The van owner called police and followed him.
Once the van was dropped off, parts were found to be missing including the radiator, AC compressor and battery. Tools in the van valued at $1,000 were also missing.
Police caught up to McKeon and booked him at Warren County Jail. Officer Justin Colwell read him his rights and he reportedly waived them.
“Mr. McKeon confessed that he thought the van was abandoned,” said Colwell in the arrest warrant. “He stated he had been watching the van for several weeks. … He stated he intended to take the van to the scrap yard. Mr. McKeon stated there were tools such as wrenches and pliers and other tools of like nature inside the van that he took.”
