A 25-year-old man led a York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office deputy on a chase after a Wawa gas station employee reported the man was asking customers for money, police say.
Deputies responded to the Wawa, located in the 800 block of Merrimac Trail, around 2:55 a.m. Monday morning, sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Dennis Ivey said.
The deputy arrived to find Christopher J. Haynes, of Virginia Beach, sitting in the driver’s seat of a sport utility vehicle parked at a gas pump. A male passenger was also sitting in the vehicle, Ivey said.
The Wawa employee said they asked Haynes to leave, but he refused and stayed on the property, Ivey said.
The deputy then approached the SUV and made contact with the two men, making small talk. The deputy saw “shake,” or marijuana residue, on the front of the passenger’s pants, Ivey said.
The deputy observed Haynes appear to be very nervous, looking around and pulling items out of the center console, Ivey said. When the deputy asked him to shut the vehicle off, he didn’t comply and drove out of the Wawa parking lot, he said.
Police said Haynes turned left onto Penniman Road, turned right onto Madison Road, left onto Adams Road and back onto Merrimac Trail. The vehicle ended up back near the Wawa entrance, Ivey said.
Speeds reached about 60 mph, he said.
Haynes pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road near the store’s entrance and stepped out of the vehicle with his hands up.
The deputy took Haynes into custody and searched the vehicle, finding a gun and an empty sandwich bag with the smell of what police believed to be marijuana, Ivey said.
Haynes is charged with eluding police, driving without a driver’s license, possession of a concealed weapon and reckless driving.
He appeared for arraignment in the York General District Court Tuesday morning, and is scheduled to appear again in court for a hearing April 24, according to court records.
