May 18—A 22-year-old man faces several felony charges after he was arrested following a brief foot chase by Reading police a day after he fled a traffic stop at high speed, running stop signs and nearly colliding with other vehicles, according to the criminal complaint.
Waldy Rodriguez-Suero of the 300 block of North Second Street was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail to await a hearing following arraignment Tuesday night before District Judge David L. Yoch in Reading Central Court.
Rodriguez-Suero is charged with having a firearm while prohibited, possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, fleeing or eluding police, reckless driving and related traffic violations.
According to investigators:
On Monday evening, two police officers were in an unmarked patrol vehicle as part of a Neighborhood Gun Violence detail. They spotted a BMW with tinted windows parked behind a home in the 300 block of North Second Street. Police had information the car previously had fled police so they set up surveillance.
Two males were seen getting into the car that headed east on Buttonwood Street. Officers followed the car and initiated a traffic stop in the 400 block of North Sixth Street.
The driver, later identified as Rodriguez-Suero, was told to turn off the ignition and place the keys on the roof. He complied initially, but sped off at a high speed on North Sixth before turning on Oley Street then Church Street, running stop signs and forcing other motorists to brake or swerve out of the way.
The BMW was last seen northbound on Centre Avenue at a high speed.
Investigators obtained a warrant for Rodriguez-Suero after eavesdropping on a jailhouse phone call between the incarcerated owner of the car and Rodriguez-Suero. In the conservation, Rodriguez-Suero is heard talking about leading police on a chase in the car, which he planned to sell for the owner.
Around noon Tuesday, city vice unit investigators went to the 300 block of North Second Street to look for Rodriguez-Suero. They found him walking nearby and a chase ensued.
In the grass next to where Rodriguez-Suero was apprehended, officers found a loaded handgun with a scratched-off serial number. Rodriguez, who had a holster in his waistband, is prohibited from having a firearm due to a drug-trafficking conviction.