Deputies nab man wanted on federal warrant after high-speed chase
A man wanted on federal gun and drug charges stemming from an investigation in Ypsilanti Township's West Willow neighborhood was arrested Wednesday by Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies after a high-speed chase.
Roman Whitfield, 34, of Superior Township, was charged last month in a federal criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm and distributing a controlled substance.
Whitfield
He was arrested Wednesday afternoon following a pursuit that began in Washtenaw County and ended in Wayne County, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tom Pennington said.
Pennington said Wednesday night that he did not have further details.
Reports indicate that the chase at about 12:15 p.m. moved from the area of Willow Run High School to eastbound I-94 and at one point reached speeds of up to 95 miles per hour.
ATF agents had been seeking Whitfield since Nov. 4 after conducting a joint investigation with sheriff's deputies. It's unclear when Whitfield will make an initial appearance in federal court in Detroit.
Agents and deputies built a case against Whitfield by using two confidential informants equipped with audio/video recording devices, court records show. Records say the informants bought a gun, crack and marijuana from Whitfield during the investigation that started as early as May.
Whitfield is prohibited from having a gun because he has felony convictions for delivering a controlled substance, malicious destruction of fire/police property, assault with a dangerous weapon, third-degree fleeing and eluding and domestic violence third-offense.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Jan 21, 2012 : 9:03 p.m.
RE: "Whitfield is prohibited from having a gun because he has felony convictions for delivering a controlled substance, malicious destruction of fire/police property, assault with a dangerous weapon, third-degree fleeing and eluding and domestic violence third-offense." And he never bothered to get a car capable of topping 95 mph in traffic? What a wuss! This young man is in serious need of Career Success Training (available online courses!). Q. What would "fire/police property" be? A squirt gun? RE: " It's unclear when Whitfield will make an initial appearance in federal court in Detroit." -- Anyone local with this kind of experience want to describe what it's like to serve jury duty in Detroit?? How was the commute? How much time, money and sleep were lost? How much time did jury deliberation take - and was that influenced by the fun you were having? Were you at any time frustrated with your fellow jurors? Did you feel your safety was at risk during your period of service - or afterward?
15crown00
Sat, Jan 7, 2012 : 6:51 p.m.
Got him. GOOD!
Monica R-W
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 9:13 a.m.
Lee, Tip of the day. There are other connections to this case besides the area he lived in.
sbbuilder
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 2:05 p.m.
Slave2work Well, I guess as soon as there is a spate of criminal activity originating from West Bloomfield, or Grosse Pointe, or Barton Hills, perhaps we can then lament the numerous negative comments flowing on this site. Until then...
Bob Krzewinski
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:26 p.m.
It never ceases to amaze me. Someone thinks they can outrun the police in their car. While you may be able to outrun one police car, you are never, ever going to "outrun" a radio call put out for other police cars to pick you up down the road.
OLDTIMER3
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 11:35 a.m.
I wonder what he was doing by the school. And they let guys like this stay on the streets. 3 offenses for domestic violence and still on the street? Most likely more plea bargaining deals.
justanotheropinion
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 2:59 a.m.
Great work WCSD!
Jackietreehorn
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:27 a.m.
Now that this is a federal case, with serious federal charges, if convicted you can count on not seeing this guy for quite some time. It is always a rude awakening for a local felon to face a federal case after enjoying the local catch-and-release policy. Great job to all involved.
actionjackson
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:16 a.m.
Glad to see him off the streets. Fortunate not to have my family out there on the road during the chase.
Rob MI
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:41 a.m.
I *was* out on the road during the time this happened...eastbound I-94, even. I was fortunate not to encounter this on my drive out to Dearborn.
slave2work
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 12:19 a.m.
ok,, stop the whole " west willow thing" it's getting old. The news here is that this " dude" was even out of jail ,with that list of wholesome activities he seems to enjoy doing. Looks like the court system again has put them out on the streets..
Monica R-W
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 9:20 a.m.
Cinnabar and Stevek, Let's get a couple of things straight. Out of a community with nearly 2000+ homes, over 10,000 residents and Whitfield being ONE individual, the "West Willow Thing" is a little inappropriate for this story. The point is this criminal was caught. He's off the streets and in jail. The better question for both of you to ask is where was Whitfield hiding for nearly two months? Wanna bet that it wasn't in West Willow? He could have been anywhere in Washtenaw County, including in your neighborhood. Food for thought before you type....is a REALLY good thing.
stevek
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:23 p.m.
No, you are wrong. The more negative publicity this drug den and home to many criminals gets, the better off. The more complaints that this area gets, there might be more enforcement presence in the area.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 1:22 p.m.
"ok,, stop the whole " west willow thing" it's getting old." Right on slave2work the rest of wastenaw county is really getting tired of this whole "west willow thing" too. But I think we are talking about 2 different things here.
Roadman
Wed, Dec 28, 2011 : 11:41 p.m.
My, my.........Ypsi's West Willow neighborhood continues to be a hot spot for criminal activity.
Ypsi_Wings_Fan
Fri, Dec 30, 2011 : 12:09 a.m.
check out all the west willow street fights on youtube
YpsiVeteran
Thu, Dec 29, 2011 : 5:48 p.m.
It's not "Ypsi's" West Willow neighborhood....it's Ypsi Townships' neighborhood. They are not the same entity, and they are not anything close to equal in either the quality or the quantity of police protection they enjoy. Credit the myopic Township board, for putting political infighting ahead of Township residents' safety.