UPDATE: Suspect named in police pursuit ending with car crashing into Saylor's Pizza
Jaquan Deon Chestnut
UPDATE: The vehicle was determined to not be stolen, but rather it was a vehicle of interest in an unrelated crime in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
Twenty-one-year-old Jaquan Deon Chestnut from Chicago Heights, Illinois was arrested and arraigned in Berrien County's fifth district court on charges of fleeing and eluding in the third degree, resisting and obstructing a police officer, and driving without a valid operator's license.
He's currently being held at the Berrien County Jail on a $20,000 bond.
ORIGINAL STORY: BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- On Sept. 24 at approximately 4:49 a.m., a Berrien County Sheriff’s Office deputy was on patrol when he observed a vehicle driving at an excessive speed on U.S. 12.
The deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the dark colored SUV for a traffic violation.
The suspect vehicle then fled from the attempted traffic stop and the deputy engaged in a brief vehicular pursuit.
The pursuit ended when the suspect vehicle lost control attempting to negotiate a curve and crashed into Saylor's Pizza Port in the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue in Niles.
The suspect vehicle came to rest inside the building which then ignited a structure fire causing extensive damage to the building and the vehicle.
The suspect was the sole occupant of the vehicle and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect was taken into custody without incident at the scene of the crash.
The driver is currently being held on preliminary charges of fleeing and eluding and possession of a stolen vehicle.
The identity of the driver is being withheld pending arraignment.
