Shoplifting Suspect Arrested After Police Chase In Stafford County

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — A man is in custody after what authorities described as a "slow-speed chase" on Thursday at the Stafford Marketplace.

A woman suffered minor abrasions after she dove out of the suspect's vehicles during the chase, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said.

After the chase, deputies arrested 63-year-old Michael Vaughns of Fredericksburg. He is charged with eluding, obstruction, possession of a controlled substance, petit larceny, and abduction. He is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Around 7 p.m. on Thursday, deputies learned of a shoplifting incident at the Stafford Marketplace Target, according to the police report. They had already identified Vaughns as the suspect, and deputies saw him in the store's parking lot in a black Mercedes SUV.

The deputies asked Vaughns to pull over. At first, he stopped his SUV, authorities said.

"Unfortunately, as deputies approached Vaughns on foot, he drove away, initiating a pursuit," the Stafford County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook. "Vaughns drove to the rear of the Target and a female passenger did an amazing tuck and roll dive from the moving vehicle."

Vaughns led the deputies back to the front of Target, across an access road, around Chili's, and into the parking lot of Bob Evans. There, another deputy joined the chase, police said. The deputy rammed Vaughns's SUV outside Applebees and ended the chase.

"Vaughns was taken into custody without incident," the sheriff's office said. "Anyone on a date night at Applebee's had a front row view of the action."