A Burkville man is being sought after a Virginia State Police pursuit initiated following a report of a theft from a gas station at Exit 162 along Interstate 81 in Botetourt County.
Shawn Michael Tolbert, 42, fled on foot after crashing his vehicle in Craig County following the Aug. 11 incident, which began with a report that lottery tickets had been stolen from the gas station.
With little information initially on the suspect vehicle, a trooper attempted to stop a vehicle closely matching the initial description. When the emergency lights were activated, the driver of the vehicle refused to stop and sped away.
The pursuit continued into Craig County where the vehicle crashed. The driver fled the scene on foot, and has remained at large since the crash.
Further investigation has found that this was not the vehicle suspected in the theft.
Tolbert is a white male, 5’10” with brown hair and hazel eyes. He is believed to have changed clothes and is living in the woods trying to elude police.
Tolbert is believed to be armed, and may be dangerous if threatened.
Tolbert is wanted on multiple charges at this point. Virginia State Police charges are three counts of felony elude police and three counts of reckless driving. Additional charges have been placed by Craig County Sheriff’s Office: criminal trespass, obstruction, false identification and two counts of felony assault on a police officer.
There are multiple agencies participating in the search for Tolbert. If Tolbert is located, authorities are asking the public to use extreme caution and to contact law enforcement.
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Chris Graham
