Driver jailed after chase, charged with theft

VOLANT, Pa. -- New Wilmington Police Chief Carmen Piccirillo knew something was wrong when he saw the Oldsmobile station wagon speeding down Pa. Route 18.
Piccirillo, who was off duty, also saw a second car with flashing headlights and beeping horn at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
The chase, that eventually picked up New Wilmington Patrolman Robert Capezio and the Pennsylvania State Police, led to the arrest of a Youngstown man accused of stealing the station wagon.
Police and witnesses said Emmett Sadler Jr., 21, of Bryson Street, Youngstown, lost control of the station wagon as he tried to turn onto Mercer Street from Pa. Route 208 in Volant. The car went up a utility pole and flipped onto its roof, they said.
Sadler was treated at Jameson Hospital before being arraigned and jailed. He is charged with theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, fleeing and eluding police and numerous traffic violations. He is being held in the Lawrence County jail after failing to post $50,000 bond.
His preliminary hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Lawrence County Central Court.
Neshannock Township police said Sadler took the station wagon from the 7-Eleven on Wilmington Road just after 4 p.m. after dumping a bicycle he took from another location. The car owner had left the keys in the car and gone into the store.
Piccirillo said Capezio picked up the chase, which reached speeds of 90 to 100 mph, on Route 208.
He noted the cars slowed as they neared Volant because a car cruise was breaking up and there were many other cars on the road.