A La Porte man was arrested Saturday night following a pursuit through La Porte.
A La Porte County Sheriff’s Department deputy reportedly found a vehicle to be speeding on State Road 2 just west of Fail Road. The officer activated his vehicle’s emergency lights and the suspect vehicle pulled into a business. The vehicle continued through the parking lot and continued east on State Road 2. A short distance later, the driver abruptly stopped. While the vehicle was stopped, the officer shined headlights into the interior of the vehicle and thought the driver to be 30-year-old Timothy Hostetler, Jr., according to the report. He was later positively identified as Hostetler.
The vehicle continued west on State Road 2 and eventually ran over tire deflation devices on Ohio Street just east of Boyd Boulevard which flattened a front tire. The pursuit continued until the vehicle drove off the roadway on Graceland Avenue and into overgrown brush. The vehicle eventually crashed at 18th Street and Ridgfield Drive.
Hostetler reportedly entered a nearby vehicle, but was tased to end the pursuit.
Police say the vehicle Hostetler was driving was reported stolen out of Porter County. He was also wanted on several felony warrants.
Hostetler was arrested on preliminary felony charges of auto theft, theft with a prior conviction, possession of methamphetamine, and resisting law enforcement. He also faces several preliminary misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle, reckless driving and operator never licensed.
He is being held without bond in the La Porte County Jail.
Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
