GREENE - A Mecca man with several convictions for illegally driving without a license tried to avoid a 17th conviction Monday by speeding from sheriff's deputies and abruptly turning into a driveway, according to reports.
That driveway, however, turned out to be a Bazetta Township police officer's home.
John M. Post Jr., 32, 2765 state Route 88 and 3536 Middle Road, Conneaut, drove down several roads and abruptly turned into the driveway, reports said. Unbeknownst to Post at the time, he had turned into the driveway of officer Leonard Emch's home.
Post is now facing a fifth-degree felony charge of possessing criminal tools, a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing and first-degree misdemeanor charge of driving under suspension.
He is to be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. today in Cortland Central District Court. He was held in the Trumbull County Jail without bond since his arrest Monday.
Reports said deputies saw Post's red Dodge truck traveling west on state Route 87 about 2:15 p.m. Monday and attempted to catch up.
The truck turned south on Dennison Ashtabula Road and sped up so fast it took deputies two miles to catch up to Post, who quickly turned on Davis Peck Road.
He then whipped into Emch's driveway and tried to get out of the vehicle. Deputies ordered him to get back in his truck.
Reports said Post told deputies he pulled in the driveway to avoid them.
Post then told deputies he had a suspended license and that a friend gave him a license plate in order to avoid detection. The plates, report said, are from a 1998 Pontiac.
Officers arrested Post and called for a tow truck. When looking the bed of his truck, deputies found a refrigerator and several long pieces of freshly cut copper pipes.
Deputies reported they also found a multicolored bag containing hack saws, pipe cutters, pry bars and hammers.