A 20-year-old New Castle man is facing a long list of charges after police say a routine traffic stop outside a downtown convenience store spiraled into a foot chase, a Taser deployment, and the discovery of a loaded rifle tucked behind the driver's seat of his car. Rodney Lee Palmer, of Halco Drive, was arrested early on Oct. 25 in the parking lot of a convenience store on North Jefferson Street in New Castle.
According to New Castle News, the strange sequence began when the car rolled backward while two men were outside it. Palmer then caught up, got in, backed over a curb, drove into grass, backed onto Jefferson Street, and returned to the parking lot. Police say Palmer then attempted to evade a traffic stop and detention, and gave an officer a false identity when asked to verify who he was.
Officer Spots a Pistol, Chase Begins
While checking Palmer's identity, an officer reportedly spotted a pistol inside the car, the report states. When officers moved to handcuff Palmer, he pulled away and took off running, according to the account, sprinting across East Falls Street and onto North Cochran Way with officers in pursuit.
An officer discharged seven Taser probes while chasing Palmer, but the probes did not strike him, per the same account. Palmer kept running through the parking lot of the Human Services Center and through bushes in the lot near the Columbus Inner Belt before he was finally handcuffed after backup arrived and officers gave him multiple orders, the report notes. One officer fell during the pursuit and scraped his elbow, according to the report.
False Name, Then a DUI Warrant Surfaces
Palmer was ultimately identified using his real name and date of birth once he was taken to the New Castle police station, the outlet reports. Officers then discovered he had an active arrest warrant issued by state police for a DUI case in Kittanning, with charges pending in Armstrong County, according to the report.
Inside the car, police say they found a loaded, short-barreled Aero Precision Model X15 rifle positioned behind the driver's seat, along with a black 60-round magazine containing 51 rounds and a live round in the gun's chamber, according to the criminal complaint cited by the outlet. The magazine reportedly contained live brass ammunition, per police.
A Firearm With No Known Legal Owner
In Butler County, a man reported that his white Dodge Charger had been stolen by an unknown person while he went to pick up a friend. Police reviewed video of the theft showing Palmer driving the stolen Charger, according to the report.
Despite that video review, police say they do not know the legal owner of the seized gun, and Butler County has not filed any charges connected to the incident as of the New Castle News report. Pennsylvania does not require firearm owners to report a lost or stolen gun, according to the Giffords Law Center, a detail that helps explain why tracing a weapon's rightful owner can prove difficult even once a suspect is in custody.
Charges and Bond
Palmer faces charges that include person not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms; carrying a firearm without a license; receiving stolen property; escape; two counts of evading arrest or detention on foot; three counts of resisting arrest; and providing false identification, among others listed in the complaint. District Judge Melissa A. Amodie arraigned Palmer and committed him to Lawrence County jail on $100,000 bond, the report states.
