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A wanted man was taken into custody by Kingston police after he initially attempted to flee the scene in his vehicle with an officer partially hanging out of the car.
Matthew David Kopetchny, 34, of Kingston was charged with resisting arrest and multiple counts of reckless endangerment after he was arrested on Wyoming Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, according to a release from the Kingston Municipal Police Department.
According to police:
An officer in the area of Wyoming Avenue and Northampton Street at approximately 2:22 p.m. on Tuesday observed Kopetchny, known to police as a wanted male, traveling in the passenger seat of a white sedan on Wyoming Avenue.
A traffic stop was initiated, and police asked for identifications on both Kopetchny and the driver. Kopetchny told the officer that he would not identify himself.
The officer informed Kopetchny that he was under arrest, at which time Kopetchny jumped into the rear seat of the vehicle and attempted to exit the car through the rear door on the driver’s side.
An assisting officer from Edwardsville Borough prevented Kopetchny from escaping the vehicle, and Kopetchny then crawled into the driver’s seat.
According to police, Kopetchny then tried to shift the vehicle into drive while pressing down on the gas pedal with his hand.
A Taser was deployed to subdue Kopetchny, with no effect. Officers were pulled into the vehicle while attempting to restrain Kopetchny, who continued to try and get the vehicle into drive with his hand on the accelerator.
The police report said that, if Kopetchny were able to get the car into drive, the two officers attempting to arrest him would have been dragged by the vehicle.
Eventually, officers were able to successfully take Kopetchny into custody. He reportedly told police that he was sorry for his actions, that he was aware of the warrant out for his arrest and that he had previously ingested methamphetamine and other controlled substances.
Kopetchny was transported to Luzerne County Correctional Facility for failure to appeal on his warrant; it was unspecified in the news release what the warrant was specifically for, but court records indicate that Kopetchny had active charges of theft and receiving stolen property open against him, dating back to March 28 of this year.
He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Joseph A. Halesey on Wednesday morning and charged with three counts of reckless endangerment, one count of resisting arrest and one count of default in required appearance.
He was taken back to Luzerne County Correctional Facility for failure to post bail in the amount of $25,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 19.