A 33-year-old fugitive from Baltimore led Berkeley County deputies on a high-speed chase through a residential Martinsburg neighborhood, throwing a handgun and a bag of drugs from his Jeep before crashing into a cluster of trees and trying to climb a fence to get away. Floyd Davon Craig was caught by Martinsburg Police Department officers as he attempted to scale a fence behind the Apple Harvest Sheetz, ending a pursuit that began when he blew through multiple stop signs, drove into oncoming traffic, and cut across a residential yard near the railroad tracks.
According to West Virginia MetroNews, the chase started when a deputy located Craig's vehicle traveling westbound on Apple Harvest Drive and attempted a traffic stop. Craig initially stopped, but fled on foot toward Apple Harvest Drive as the deputy exited her patrol vehicle, according to the sheriff's office. He then got back into a black Jeep Patriot, drove into oncoming traffic onto Winchester Avenue, and sped through the residential area with three passengers still inside the vehicle.
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said the pursuit began within Martinsburg city limits before Craig lost control of the Jeep and crashed into a cluster of trees on Shenandoah Street. As deputies closed in, Craig threw a Glock firearm and a clear bag containing capsules out of the vehicle before fleeing on foot. A member of the U.S. Marshals Service later located the Glock inside a fanny pack, and investigators also found drug paraphernalia inside the abandoned Jeep.
Warrants, a Motel Room, and a House on Bernice Avenue
Craig was already wanted on violent felony warrants out of Maryland, including first-degree assault, second-degree assault, felon in possession of a firearm, and using a handgun in the commission of a felony, according to the Panhandle News Network. Investigators obtained search warrants for a hotel room at a local motel and a home on Bernice Avenue as the case developed. At the motel, identified separately as the Red Roof Inn off Viking Way where Craig had been staying, police found ammunition, cash, digital scales, and drug paraphernalia, per the same outlet's reporting. A firearm was also recovered at the Bernice Avenue home.
The operation drew in a wide swath of law enforcement beyond the initial Berkeley County deputies and Martinsburg police, according to a Crime Report And News in Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia post, which noted that the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement both assisted, including in recovering the discarded firearm. That same account identified Berkeley County Deputy Jessica Baldridge as the officer who initiated the original traffic stop attempt on Apple Harvest Drive, while Sergeant Austin Ennis led the vehicle pursuit once Craig fled into oncoming traffic.
Charges, Bond, and What Comes Next
Craig faces charges including being a fugitive from justice, being a prohibited person with a firearm, malicious assault, wanton endangerment, fleeing police, and drug possession, according to the sheriff's office account carried by West Virginia MetroNews. The Panhandle News Network reported that following his capture on August 27, Craig was arraigned before Berkeley County Magistrate Darrell Shull on charges including felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful assault, wanton endangerment, fleeing, and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, and was ordered held on a $35,000 secure bond. He remains in the Eastern Regional Jail.
Under West Virginia Code § 61-5-17(e), intentionally fleeing from a law enforcement officer after a clear signal to stop is a criminal offense punishable by fines up to $1,000 and jail time, with heightened felony penalties when the fleeing endangers officers or the public, according to the West Virginia Legislature. Separately, under West Virginia Code § 61-7-7, anyone previously convicted of a felony who knowingly possesses a firearm commits a felony carrying mandatory imprisonment upon conviction. It remains an open question, per the research surrounding the case, whether Berkeley County prosecutors will pursue trials on the local drug and weapons charges before Craig is extradited to Maryland, since West Virginia judicial precedent generally allows prosecuting authorities to resolve local charges before releasing a fugitive to a demanding state.
The three passengers who were riding in Craig's Jeep during the chase were interviewed by officers and released without charges, according to the West Virginia MetroNews report, indicating investigators did not view them as co-conspirators in the fleeing or drug offenses. Deputies said they are continuing to investigate the case, and it is not yet known whether the seized firearms and narcotics will be tied to a broader trafficking operation. The chase adds to a string of violent, cross-border incidents connecting Martinsburg and Maryland in recent months, including a June carjacking at a Shepherdstown Road gas station that Hoodline previously reported also ended with a pursuit toward Baltimore.
