By Wes Wade
The Maryville Daily Times
One day after escaping police during a routine traffic stop, a Maryville man is behind bars after a similar getaway attempt following a Tuesday traffic stop.
Mark Daniel Lethco, 23, Foch Street, Maryville, was being held in lieu of $2,250 bond on two counts of evading arrest and a charge of driving on a suspended license. He was scheduled to appear at a 9 a.m. Tuesday hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.
Lethco’s arrest Tuesday came one day after Maryville Police attempted a traffic stop on a Pontiac Grand Prix on U.S. 411 near Garwood Lane at around 10:44 p.m. Monday, according to a Maryville Police report.
The driver, later identified as Lethco, continued driving onto West Broadway Avenue and pulled into Weigel’s, the report said. The suspect then jumped from the vehicle and ran in the direction of Old Niles Ferry Road.
While officers were unable to locate Lethco in the area, they recovered a black cellphone left behind in the driver seat of the Grand Prix, the report said.
At around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Maryville Police officers attempted a traffic stop on a Ford Mustang with a license plate registered to a Pontiac. Officers initiated the traffic stop on McCammon Avenue behind Kmart, the report states, and the driver of the Mustang drove slowly around Kmart into the parking lot. The driver then continued driving slowly to the other side of the parking lot before stopping.
Once the vehicle stopped, a man jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle and fled on foot into a wooded area beside Kmart. Several officers established a perimeter around the area and a search dog located Lethco in the wooded area nearest McCammon Avenue, the report states.
Lethco was taken into custody and transported to the Blount County Jail, where police obtained one warrant each for evading arrest and driving on a suspended license from the Monday night incident as well as an additional warrant for evading arrest from Tuesday’s incident.
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