Car chase ends in Suffolk

Published 9:20 pm Monday, May 18, 2009

A Chesapeake man who is suspected of robbing a Wachovia Bank Monday morning is in custody following a car chase that began in Portsmouth and ended on E. Constance Road in Suffolk just minutes later.

Leonard Roulhac, 38, of Chesapeake was captured on foot after the car he was driving collided with a Chesapeake police car in the 700 block of Constance Road, according to Suffolk spokesperson Debbie George.

Chesapeake police had been notified of the bank robbery at 10:19 a.m. and responded to the bank, which is located in the 3900 block of Portsmouth Boulevard, in Chesapeake. About six minutes later, George said, officers from that department spotted the suspected getaway vehicle near Hodges Ferry Road in Portsmouth and began pursuing it.

Email newsletter signup

The pursuit entered Suffolk and proceeded down Route 58, where the suspect took the downtown exit onto Portsmouth Boulevard. Near the intersection at Nansemond Parkway, the suspect crossed into oncoming traffic and began traveling the wrong direction in the eastbound lanes until striking the Chesapeake police car, she said.

George said Chesapeake police reported that the suspect pointed what appeared to be a gun at the pursuing officer before getting out of his wrecked vehicle, and then got out of the car, turned and pointed a gun and ran into the woods as the police officer fired a single shot.

Chesapeake police quickly apprehended the man. Neither the police officer nor Roulhac were injured in the wreck or in the exchange.

Suffolk police arrived on the scene following the accident, and a search dog soon discovered “evidence believed to be from the bank robbery,” including a handgun, cash and a cell phone, George said.

Further investigation revealed that the car Roulhac had been driving had been stolen from Norfolk. Suffolk and Chesapeake police officers continued to investigate the incident Monday afternoon.

Criminal charges were expected from both cities, George stated in a press release, but none had been lodged by Monday afternoon.