Marlon Williams

Butler police arrested a man they said sped off following a weekend traffic stop in front of the Butler County Prison, and later crashed in the city.

The suspect, Marlon Williams, 42, of Butler, ran away after the high-speed chase and wreck, but he was later caught, authorities said.

Williams, it turned out, also was wanted by state police vice officers on a felony arrest warrant in a 2019 drug case.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Williams on felony and other charges for both the alleged police pursuit and for the warrant. He is free on $30,000 bail.

City officer Myles Bizub was on patrol around 2:25 p.m. Saturday when he saw a Volkswagen Passat with illegally tinted windows on West Jefferson Street, police said.

He pulled over the car on South Washington Street at the prison. But as the officer walked toward the car, the driver sped away. The suspect allegedly ran several stop signs before eventually turning onto South Main Street.

While southbound, police said, Williams crossed into oncoming traffic. The car later traveled over the left side of Morton Avenue near Mackey Avenue.

The pursuing officer momentarily lost sight of the car as the suspect drove around a bend in the road. Police allege the car hit and damaged a pickup truck traveling on Morton Avenue. No injuries were reported.

When Bizub rounded the bend, police said, he saw the car had crashed into an embankment. The defendant got out of the vehicle and took off running, prompting a foot chase with the officer.

Williams was caught and charged with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude police and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and hit-and-run. He also is charged with driving with a suspended license and two other traffic violations.

In connection with the state police warrant, the defendant is accused of selling 10 stamp bags containing fentanyl and the opioid painkiller tramadol to a police informant Aug. 8, 2019, according to court documents, during a controlled drug buy on Route 38 in Summit Township.

Police obtained the arrest warrant for Williams on Aug. 25 of this year. He is charged in that case with felony and misdemeanor drug possession.

Online court records did not list an attorney for Williams.