James Costello, Jr./Credit: Shawnee County Sheriff's Office   

 

(KNZA)--A Valley Falls man is in custody following a brief stolen-vehicle pursuit Tuesday morning in southeast Topeka.

Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill says the incident began around 9:40 a.m., when a deputy reported a stolen Chevrolet pickup near Southeast 21st and Southeast Pennsylvania Avenue. Deputies, along with the Topeka Police Department, moved into the area and quickly located the vehicle.

Hill says the truck fled at a high rate of speed before being found abandoned a short time later near Southeast 12th and Southeast Bellview.

The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Lawrence.

A K-9 unit tracked the suspect to an area near Interstate 70 under the Southeast Golden Avenue bridge, where officers located him running on foot.

The suspect, identified as 45-year-old James Costello Jr., was taken into custody without incident.

He was booked into the Shawnee County Jail on multiple felony charges, including fleeing law enforcement, drug possession, and possession of stolen property.

The investigation is ongoing.