Dec 13, 2012 2 min read

A Washington man will spend at least six months behind bars on charges stemming from his leading police from a number of departments on a chase through three municipalities last summer.

Mark Phillip Nickl, 20, of 84 W. Wheeling St., pleaded guilty Wednesday to six counts of reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property and fleeing before Washington County Judge John DiSalle.

In exchange for his plea, Nickl was sentenced to 6 to 47 months in jail, with more serious charges of aggravated assault being dismissed.

According to police reports, the chase started just before 3 a.m. June 28 when troopers attempted to stop Nickl’s car on Henderson Avenue in Canton Township after checking the registration plate and determining the vehicle, owned by James Benson of Wexford, had been stolen in Washington.

Nickl refused to stop, accelerating to speeds in excess of 80 mph. He then led police on a chase through Canton, Mt. Pleasant and Chartiers townships, during which numerous attempts were made to stop the car and three state police cruisers were damaged, including one vehicle that was rendered inoperable.

Stop strips were used by South Strabane Township police on West Pike Street and Racetrack Road and punctured one of the car’s front tires. However, Nickl continued to flee, traveling on West Pike Street and through a field at Meadow Lands Farm.

Nickl then turned into the parking lot of the UPS terminal in Chartiers Township, where the chase came to an end as state police stopped his vehicle forcibly with the front end of a cruiser.

Nickl attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended. Police said he failed to comply with directives, and it took five officers to get his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed.

Assisting in the pursuit were officers from Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant, North Strabane, Cecil and South Strabane townships and Canonsburg.