Popped: Man sentenced to prison after fleeing pop can arrest

Sat, Jul 11, 2009    to del.icio.us

A Muskegon man who led police on high-speed chase because of pop cans will spend more than a year in prison.

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John Edward Beasley, 40, was sentenced Friday for fleeing police and attempted larceny relating to the March incident.

"He made it clear he panicked and it escalated," Beasley's attorney, James McEwen, said about his client.

"I'm just sorry for putting everybody through what I put them through," Beasley said to Judge George Corsiglia in Allegan County Circuit Court.

A Holland police officer patrolling near Brooks Beverage in Holland around 11 a.m. March 8 noticed a minivan parked near a refundable cans storage area. Looking closer, the officer spotted Beasley hiding and discovered bags of the refundable cans were missing.

McEwen said Beasley was looking for the cans because of "financial distress."

Beasley ran from the officer, who caught him, but then released him after Beasley assaulted him. That officer sustained minor injuries.

Beasley drove north on U.S. 31, leading officers on a chase that exceeded 90 mph. Beasley surrendered after officers set spike strips on U.S. 31 near Rosy Mound Drive in Grand Haven Township.

"You ought to know better," Corsiglia said. "A lot of people could have been hurt."

Beasley will spend at least 14 months in prison for fleeing police, plus fines and $750 in court costs, and 30 days in the Allegan County Jail for attempted larceny less than $200.

The assault and resisting an officer charge was dismissed.

Beasley pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor, in Ottawa County earlier this year. In Muskegon County, Beasley was also convicted of attempting to disarm a police officer and escaping prison in the early 1990s.