Charges Held for Court for Man Who Allegedly Stole Jag, Led Police on Chase

A man police say stole a Jaguar, sped through the borough streets and fled from police on foot was in court Thursday on a list of charges.

District Judge Theodore Michaels held all charges for county court after the preliminary hearing for Cory Martin Johnson, 28, of Phoenixville. Johnson is charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property along with charges of reckless endangerment, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, causing an accident and several summary charges.

On July 4 at approximately 4:15 a.m., Officer Nick Heller of the Phoenixville Police Department testified that he was traveling in an unmarked police car on the north side of Phoenixville when he noticed a Jaguar matching the description of a car stolen from Schuylkill Township.

The officer followed Johnson in the area of Winding River Lane. When Heller ran the plate, he testified, it came back as a match to the stolen Jaguar. Heller didn’t activate his lights and siren, but continued following the Jaguar as it took off “as fast as possible" on Dayton Street, according to Heller.

The officer testified that the car was likely traveling at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour when it crossed the intersection at Fillmore and Dayton streets.

“Sparks were flying everywhere from underneath the vehicle,” Heller said.

Then, the driver jumped out of the car, according to Heller’s testimony, and ran to the rear of the Italian Club at 442 Dayton St. As the driver took off, he didn’t put the car in park, and the Jaguar began to move on its own, according to Heller.

“I was torn between what I should do with this car or if I should go after the driver of the vehicle,” Heller said.

He heard one crash and then another at the Jaguar careened unmanned down Dayton Street. The car crashed into a vehicle traveling north on Dayton Street, took out a street sign and then crashed into a home in the 400 block, Heller testified.

A woman in the northbound vehicle was able to steer mostly clear of the unmanned Jaguar. Her vehicle was “clipped,” Heller said, and sustained minor damage. The female driver was uninjured.

The driver was able to get away on foot. When the car was removed from the scene and searched, Heller explained that a bag from the Giant grocery story in Limerick was discovered, and it contained eggs, frozen food and a receipt. Police checked out surveillance tapes from the Limerick Giant store.

They saw a Jaguar matching the description pull up and park, Heller said, and a man entered the store wearing a white baseball cap, jeans, sneakers and a button-down blue shirt.

Back at the station, two other officers from Phoenixville Police Department recognized Johnson in the surveillance photo, Heller testified.

Heller also told the judge that in court, Johnson was wearing the same blue button-down shirt he wore during the chase and in the surveillance video. When police delivered the warrant, Heller said Johnson was wearing the same white hat as in the video, as well.

“The [identification] is 100 percent,” Heller testified.

Michaels held all the charge for county court. Johnson is currently in Chester County Prison, unable to post $20,000 cash bail. His formal arraignment date is set for Aug. 18.