A fugitive Tuesday morning in Newport News was stopped by a private citizen near Port Warwick after he exchanged fire with a police officer, Police Chief Steve Drew said.
Police were searching for a man who was wanted on charges from York and James City counties. He was reported having been seen in an apartment complex near Port Warwick, off of Thimble Shoals Boulevard.
Deston Coward, 22, of Yorktown, had warrants on file for probation violation charges that stemmed from assaulting a police officer and grand larceny, Drew said during a news conference at the gazebo in William Styron Square.
Coward was spotted in the apartment complex and ran to Port Warwick, Drew said. As officers gave chase, he ran into a business near the intersection of William Styron Square North and Herman Melville Avenue.
When Coward emerged, Drew said, he produced a gun and fired one round at the officers pursuing him. A Newport News officer returned fire.
Drew said the officers were wearing body cameras, and the preliminary investigation found the officer fired three rounds. Drew was not sure how many officers were involved in the initial pursuit.
No one was hit by the gunfire or injured during the chase, Drew said. At least one building was hit.
Coward then ran toward the embankment at the overpass where he encountered a man Drew called a good Samaritan.
“He detained him there and was able to hold him there for a brief second — seconds, I should say — as officers made it up the embankment,” Drew said.
He did not identify the man Tuesday afternoon but said he was taken to police headquarters.
“I want to thank the young man that engaged him, that assisted police today,” Drew said. “He did an amazing job and I could not be more proud of him.”
“Mr. Coward would have made it up onto the overpass there, and with traffic, who knows what would have happened,” he added.
Drew said the man was legally carrying a permitted gun but did not fire any shots.
He physically stopped Coward — sandwiching him between himself and the officers, Drew said.
“This individual put himself in a situation — I’m thankful for how things ended up today — I believe he may have helped save lives,” Drew said.
Coward was arrested, and officers recovered his weapon.
The command bus and crime scene tape were up at the scene so the police department could process the scene — taking photos of shell casings and mapping the route Coward took.
“No one is in danger, and no one was hurt today, by the grace of God,” Drew said.
Coward now has multiple charges pending out of Newport News, but Drew did not say what they were, saying it’s still early in the investigation.
Coward was previously charged with assaulting a York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office Deputy, according to a report from WTKR.
In April 2018, deputies noticed the smell of marijuana coming from a vehicle and saw the drug and scales inside. The sheriff’s office said Coward ran from deputies before hitting and attempting to disarm the one who caught up with him.
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