Nemacolin man accused of leading police on 100 mph chase
A Nemacolin man is in jail after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase in Cumberland Township Sunday night, then asking someone else to falsely come forward as the culprit.
A Cumberland Township officer initially tried to pull over Belmont Forsythe, 29, after he drove through a stop sign at the intersection of South Market Street and Schroyers Lane about 8:15 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.
Forsythe, who was driving a motorcycle, sped through two more stop signs on Schroyers Lane, court paperwork stated, before continuing onto Browns Ferry Road, where he reached speeds police estimated at 100 mph as bystanders watched from the side of the road.
After losing sight of the motorcycle, an officer recalled an address where he had seen the motorcycle parked, and obtained video footage from a neighbor of the motorcycle leaving a residence on Second Street in Crucible right before the incident, the complaint said.
Police said other witness accounts tied the motorcycle to Forsythe, as did an online post advertising the motorcycle for sale.
Forsythe denied owning the red motorcycle shortly before Cumberland Township police arrested him Tuesday night, the complaint said. Immediately after, Forsythe’s brother called police claiming to have been the suspect involved in a high-speed chase. However, court paperwork indicated, police dismissed his claims after he was unable to provide basic factual details about the pursuit.
In Forsythe’s subsequent call to his girlfriend, the complaint said, he complained about his brother’s inability to remember detailed information, while also giving details not mentioned to him by police, such as where the motorcycle had originally been spotted.
Forsythe is lodged in the Greene County Jail on $50,000 bond.
He is charged with fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16.