Three People Arrested After Shoplifting Becomes Police Chase

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three people are facing charges after leading police on a lengthy chase following allegations of shoplifting at the shopping center on Retail Drive.

Two officers with the Morgantown Police Department were on scene at 3:40 a.m. to respond to the call. At the time, four suspects fled from an open store into a black sedan. A third officer prevented the vehicle from exiting Retail Drive. Several of the vehicle’s tires blew out during the attempted escape, which resulted in two of the suspects abandoning the vehicle and fleeing into a wooded area. Police were able to capture one suspect when the first two fled.

Police received a tip later Wednesday morning that two black men covered in mud were observed near the 1400 block of Hornbeck Road, approximately three miles from where the chase began.

Officers detained the two suspects on Goshen Road shortly after the tip. They recovered stolen property found in possession of the suspects, marijuana, and burglary tools.

Tina Marie Barber, 28, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, is charged with possession of marijuana.

Michael Lamont Williams, 33, of Henderson, North Carolina, is charged with felony entering without breaking and felony conspiracy.

Jonathan Arthur Brody, 29, is charged with felony entering without breaking and felony conspiracy. Police also charged Brody, wanted in Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, as a fugitive.

Additional charges are pending.