A late March ATV chase in the Tidioute area has landed a Pleasantville man temporarily in the Warren County Jail.

Mark L. Sutton, 36, of Pleasantville was charged July 2 with second-degree felony aggravated assault – fear of imminent serious bodily injury, third-degree felony fleeing or attempting to elude officer, third-degree flight to avoid apprehension, misdemeanor resisting arrest, misdemeanor disorderly conduct and 31 traffic citations after an incident in March. Sutton was arraigned Friday by Magisterial District Court Judge Daniel Miller of Forest County. Miller set bail at $25,000, and Sutton was taken to the county jail until he could post bail.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, a state trooper was parked along state Route 127 in Triumph Township at 12:06 a.m. March 31 when he allegedly saw a white ATV traveling south on Route 127 with no rear taillights, no brake lights and no registration plate. The trooper tried to pull the ATV over, but the driver tried to turn around before proceeding south on Route 127.

Troopers pursued the ATV at speeds up to 45 miles an hour before the patrol vehicle passed the ATV in an attempt to force the rider to stop. The ATV slowed, according to the affidavit, at which point a trooper got out of the patrol vehicle and tried to use his taser. The officer missed, at which point the rider went around the patrol vehicle and drove straight toward the second trooper before continuing along Route 127 and turning onto Gorman Road.

The pursuit continued onto Youngsville Road onto a trail. The ATV went under a wire blockade while the troopers went around the blockade down another trail. Eventually, the patrol vehicle got stuck in mud on the trail and the pursuit ended.

Troopers from the State Police at Corry were contacted. The Corry troopers said they had seen a white ATV and yellow reflective jacked alongside Gorman Road, with spent taser probes in the jacket. A blue cell phone was also found lying on the ground where the ATV had gone underneath the wire blockade. A search warrant was prepared and granted for the phone, which was then taken to the Warren County Computer Forensic Detective to obtain identifying information that included a phone number. Body camera footage was then reportedly obtained from a Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy allegedly showing Sutton giving the same phone number to a deputy. Another deputy told State Police he had seen and was able to identify Sutton as the person riding the same white ATV on March 30 in Tidioute, with the deputy saying he regularly saw Sutton riding the ATV throughout the Tidioute area. A driver’s history showed Sutton’s driver’s license is suspended due to a DUI charge.

“Contact was made with the property owner where the ATV was abandoned and was informed no one should have been driving on the property,” the affidavit states.

On March 20, Sutton was pulled over by State Police in Tidioute and charged with five traffic citations, including driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked.