04/06/16 Spartanburg, SC – Suspect Committed Larceny – Vehicle Chase – Captured – Handcuffed – Officers Investigating Heard The Patrol Car Siren – Suspect Climbed Through Cage – Subdued In Driver’s Seat

April 6, 2016

wyff4.com

An Upstate man is accused of committing four crimes in eight hours, according to incident reports and warrants.

The reports said Ronnie Joe Blackwell is accused of leading deputies on a chase, driving recklessly, stealing ladders from a van outside a restaurant and then trying to escape a police car.

An incident report from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called around 4 a.m. Tuesday to Carlow Street about a larceny. The caller reported that the suspect, later identified as Blackwell, was leaving in a Ford truck.

When a deputy spotted the truck nearby, he tried to stop it and a chase started, the report said.

According to the report, the chase ended when Blackwell drove into a field behind a home on New Cut Road.

The deputy reported that when he found the truck, there was no one inside, but he found several items that were reported stolen from a car. The deputy said Blackwell has an extensive history of property crimes.

Police were called around noon Tuesday to CiCi’s Pizza on E. Blackstock Road about several males who were subduing a man.

The men told police that they saw Blackwell steal ladders from their work van, the report said.

The report said the ladders and other stolen items were found inside a Nissan Pathfinder, which Blackwell told them was his friend’s car.

Dispatchers told police the Pathfinder had been reported stolen from Spartanburg County earlier in the day.

Police said Blackwell was put in handcuffs and put in the back of a patrol car.

Police said they heard the siren in the patrol car go off and saw Blackwell climbing through the front seat and trying to sit in the driver’s seat while reaching for the steering wheel, the report said.

While Blackwell was being taken into custody, he told police the men who subdued him had injured his left arm.

Police said Blackwell hit his head on the cage on the way to the hospital, so officers stopped and put foot shackles on him.

They reported that Blackwell spat in the back of the patrol car several times.

Blackwell was seen by a physician and then taken to the Spartanburg County Detention Center.

According to warrants, Blackwell is charged with failure to stop for a blue light, reckless driving, larceny and escape.