Centralia Police say a chase early Sunday morning ended when the car being pursued drove down a private drive, through a fence, and into a pond.
The driver, 25-year-old Johnny Skurat of South Poplar in Centralia, was arrested after swimming to shore as the car submerged. A female passenger also swam to safety and was released without charges.
Skurat was held for possession of a stolen vehicle, fleeing and eluding police, disobeying three traffic control devices as well as three unrelated counts of retail theft. He was formally charged in Marion County Court Monday with fleeing and eluding police. Bond was set at $5,000. A public defender was appointed to represent him.
Centralia Police report they initially tried to complete a traffic stop in the 1100 block of South Locust. While speeds were never excessive, Skurat allegedly refused to stop as he traveled around the south side of town, at one point crossing a field, before returning to the road and eventually going down a private drive off South Pine Street.
Police were able to remove the car from the pond later in the day on Sunday. It had been reported stolen from a home in rural Centralia.
Centralia Police were looking for Skurat in connection with three retail thefts last week. Two allegedly occurred on Wednesday when he reportedly stole lottery tickets from RollnUp and Centralia Tobacco and Liquor in downtown Centralia. On Friday, he allegedly fled the Huck’s Store on Calumet Street with a box of donuts and soda after the clerk, who knew who he was, called the police when he attempted to purchase lottery tickets there.
At this point, no charges have been filed in connection with the alleged stolen car or on the retail theft cases.
