WYTHEVILLE, Va. (WFXR) – Friday morning was a busy one for officers with the Wytheville Police Department.
According to the department, just before 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, they were notified by an off-duty State Trooper that a wanted individual was at the Sheetz on North Fourth Street in Wytheville.
The off-duty Trooper recognized Tyler Cleveland of Rural Retreat that knew that he was wanted for a probation violation.
When officers responded a short time later, Cleveland has reportedly just left the parking lot.
Officers then spotted the vehicle a short distance away and performed a traffic stop.
When the officers made contact with Cleveland, they advised him that he was wanted for a probation violation. That’s when Cleveland reportedly sped away from the officers who immediately began pursuit.
Cleveland subsequently crashed his truck at the intersection with Fisher Road and East Spiller Street where he then fled on foot.
Due to the location of the incident and the proximity of Spiller Elementary School, the school was placed on lockdown.
A citizen who did not know of the ongoing situation called police when he spotted a suspicious person who was “acting weird: on the Historic Loretto Mansion property.
Cleveland was located and apprehended a short time later hiding in the bushes of the property when a VSP Trooper found his tracks in the frost-covered grass.
Cleveland, 29, is being charged with probation violation, eluding police, destruction of property and driving on a suspended license.
Wytheville Police were assisted by the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police.
