Armed man gave police his license, then led cops on York, Chester county chase

A man with a gun wrecked his vehicle on a school campus after a police chase Friday in York and Chester counties, police said.

The chase started south of York in York County after Derrick Maurice Stradford, 27, gave York County deputies his drivers license. Stradford had been pulled over for allegedly driving a white Dodge Challenger on the wrong aside of the road, York County deputies said.

Stradford is charged in Chester County with failure to stop for a blue light, illegal carrying of a pistol, carrying a pistol on school grounds and driving with a suspended license, according to jail records.

In York County, Stradford faces charges of reckless driving, failure to stoop for a blue light, driving under suspension, and driving on the wrong side of the road, police records show.

Stradford handed over his license to officers after the original traffic stop on U.S. 321 south of York, then took off from the scene in the Dodge with the deputy holding the license, a York County incident report shows.

York County deputies chased the Dodge for three to five minutes before the stopping because police had suspect identification, police said.

Stradford fled into Chester County, said Robert Sprouse, chief deputy for the Chester County Sheriff’s office.

After Stradford eluded capture, he was seen driving in Chester on S.C. 97, heading toward Great Falls, Sprouse said.

Stradford was pursued by Chester deputies until he lost a tire, Sprouse said. His vehicle wrecked on College Street in Chester, at the Charter Academy for Teaching campus, Sprouse said.

Stradford was taken to a hospital after the crash. He then was booked into the Chester County jail, Sprouse said.

Stradford remains in custody on the Chester County charges, jail records show.

This story was originally published July 16, 2018 at 10:26 AM.