KINGWOOD — Preston County Sheriff’s Deputies are charging a man accused of striking three Preston cruisers in an incident Friday that led through three states.
Jeremy Andrew Silveira, 32, of Salt Lick Road, Terra Alta, was in the North Central Regional Jail Monday. He is charged with felony fleeing with reckless indifference and misdemeanor harassment.
Numerous felony charges are also anticipated to be filed by Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to Preston officers.
Neither the officers or a woman who was in Silveira’s Kia were hurt, Chief Deputy P.A. Pritt said Monday.
But, “Anytime something like this happens it is very dangerous for the officer, for the people that are fleeing, for drivers,” Pritt said.
According to the criminal complaint, on Friday, deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a green Kia SUV with Virginia registration traveling north on W.Va. 26 north of Brandonville. The driver, Silveira, had warrants out for his arrest and had made death threats toward law enforcement, the complaint says.
Pritt said the incident began about 9:30–10 p.m. Friday and, other than W.Va. 26, the chase was primarily confined to back roads in northern Preston County, many of which go between states.
Officers had attempted to serve the warrants earlier on Silveira at Terra Alta, but could not find him. The warrant for harassment was obtained by the Kingwood Detachment of the West Virginia State Police.
The Kia didn’t stop when the deputy activated his lights and siren, and led officers on a pursuit into Pennsylvania, then into Maryland. It struck two Preston Sheriff’s Department cruisers there and ended back in Pennsylvania after striking a third Preston County unit head-on.
The Kia reached speeds of up to 80 mph during the pursuit and passed some vehicles on blind curves, Preston Deputy R.A. Stockett Jr. wrote in the criminal complaint.
Pritt said that Silveira jumped from his moving car as it approached the third cruiser. He ran into brush by the roadside and was quickly caught, the chief deputy said.
Silveira was taken into custody by deputies and turned over to units from the Pennsylvania State Police, Uniontown Detachment, who responded to investigate the third accident.
Members of the Maryland State Police, McHenry Detachment, responded to investigate when the suspect allegedly struck the Preston County units in their jurisdiction.
The harassment charge by West Virginia State Police Cpl. D.W. Simmons stems from Silveira allegedly sending phone texts and messages through Facebook Messenger to a woman and calling her at work, even though she told him not to.
Pritt said the cruisers did not have heavy exterior damage, partly because of a new, heavier style brush guard the department has begun ordering on its cruisers. Mechanics will check them out, he said.
