Suspect who eluded Augusta County deputy in 140 mph chase remains at-large
FISHERSVILLE — A suspect wanted for nearly two years eluded an Augusta County deputy last week following a traffic stop in Fishersville, where he reportedly fled in a car and topped out at 140 mph, according to court records.
Kelvin J. Sease, 33, of Waynesboro, has been wanted out of Rockbridge County since February 2021 after he skipped out on a drug trial, where he was facing charges of transporting cocaine into Virginia and manufacturing a controlled substance.
Prior to the car chase, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office, as well as the United States Marshals Service, had received information from a confidential informant that Sease was staying in Tennessee but still frequenting the Augusta County area. The informant also alleged Sease was dealing cocaine and carrying a gun, an affidavit to a search warrant states.
On Jan. 19, a deputy with the sheriff's office made a traffic stop on Sease in the 1900 block Jefferson Highway in Fishersville. However, when confronted about his identity, Sease reportedly sped away in a 2017 Dodge Charger and headed east on U.S. 250 toward Waynesboro. Court records indicate his car was going about 140 mph.
The vehicle was found in the 200 block of Bookerdale Road in Waynesboro, and a Maryland identification card was located in the car, a search warrant said. Sease remains at-large.
In 2015, Waynesboro police arrested Sease following a large drug bust at a Waynesboro motel that yielded 4 pounds of crack cocaine.
Sease was thought to have been hiding a shooting suspect at the Quality Inn on West Broad Street in Waynesboro. After police got a manager to open the door to Sease's room, they didn't find the shooting suspect but did see evidence of a crack cocaine operation. Along with the crack, authorities confiscated several digital scales, cooking dishes, plastic bags, baking soda and $5,400 in cash. Sease was staying at the motel under a false name, court documents said.
However, in a motion to suppress, Sease's attorneys said his rights were violated and the 2015 search was illegal, arguing police had no justification for entering his motel room. The motion prompted the Waynesboro Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to reach a plea deal in the case, and Sease was sentenced to one year in jail.
Sease is wanted in Rockbridge County on two misdemeanors for failure to appear, and is also charged with violating his probation in the Waynesboro drug case, according to court records.
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Suspect who eluded Augusta County deputy in chase remains at-large
