Man, 29, charged in chase, break-in
By Gary Popp
Published in News on December 6, 2011 1:46 PM
Full Size
Mitchell Jay Hardison
A vehicle chase involving the Goldsboro police and a suspect believed to be in a stolen vehicle ended in a crash Monday night.
Mitchell Jay Hardison, 29, of 415 Kingston Circle, was taken into custody around 10:15, after he drove into a post in the 1800 block of New Hope Road while driving a 2011 Ford F-250 he is charged with stealing, police say.
Hours before his arrest, Hardison was allegedly involved in a break-in at the office building of T.A. Loving, located at 400 N. Patetown Road, Goldsboro police Captain Al King said.
When police officers completed their paperwork early this morning, Hardison faced a $22,000 bond and nearly a dozen charges including larceny of a motor vehicle, felonious breaking and entering, attempted larceny, felonious speed to elude, reckless driving to endanger, two counts of failure to stop for a red light, speeding, following too closely, failure to maintain lane control, resisting a public officer, littering and driving while impaired.
King said Hardison's blood alcohol content, which was taken at the Wayne County Jail, was .16, twice the legal limit for people over 21 years old while operating a vehicle
Goldsboro police officers received a call around 7 p.m. for a break-in at T.A. Loving that was made by the construction company's vice president, James Smith.
When police arrived, they found a broken window and blood in the area believed to have been spilled by the person passing through the broken glass.
While officers were conducting their investigation of the break-in, a Ford F-250 drove by at very high rate of speed, at which time the vehicle pursuit was initiated, King said.
Officers attempted to pull over the large pickup truck driven by Hardison, as he sped from Patetown Road to William Street to U.S. 70 East to Spence Avenue, then to New Hope Road. Hardison drove past Eastern Wayne High before driving the truck into a utility sign post.
The Ford pickup, which had a listed value of $50,000, was reported stolen by its owner Timothy Rhodes, who is an acquaintance and neighbor of Hardison, King said.
Hardison was not in need of medical attention after the wreck and was taken into custody without incident.