MAN — A hot pursuit through several counties ended in Huff Creek behind the Man Pic Pac.

Gary Charles O’Neal, 38, of Allen Junction, was arrested on Feb. 6, for multiple charges including fleeing, reckless driving, failure to report an accident, giving false information to officers, improper registration, defective equipment, driving on a revoked license, no MVI sticker and driving the wrong way on a one way street.

O’Neal was booked at the Southwestern Regional Jail at Holden at 6:50 p.m. A warrant had been issued for his arrest in McDowell county but he was arrested and arraigned in Logan County.

According to court documents, on Thursday, at 10:36 p.m., the state police were informed of a vehicle pursuit entering McDowell County along U.S. Route 52, where a Mercer County Deputy was pursuing O’Neal for traffic violations.

Troopers traveled south on Route 52 where they reportedly saw O’Neal “traveling at a high rate of speed” in an older model Chevy Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo did not stop for police and continued to travel on Route 52.

Troopers checked with the DMV and were notified the registration on the car was not issued to the Monte Carlo.

“This vehicle, at times, traveled at speeds of 70-75 miles per hour,” the document states. “Which is well above posted speed limits.”

O’Neal drove “in a reckless manner” and almost hit other vehicles head-on, as his car passed several other vehicles in a no passing zone. When O’Neal got to downtown Welch, he drove the wrong way on a one-way street before traveling into Wyoming County.

The document states O’Neal “operated this vehicle in a manner of no regard to public safety” and it said he does not have a valid operators license. Some of the chase was recorded by in-car cameras by police.

O’Neal was eventually arrested by West Virginia State Police troopers L.T. Goldie and P.J. Dick.

Goldie had been contacted by the Logan Dispatch to assist State Police units in Welch in capturing the Monte Carlo that was traveling towards Mingo County, “at a high rate of speed in a reckless manner.”

According to a criminal complaint on file in Logan Magistrate Court, O’Neal fled from Goldie into Logan County and vanished on Feb. 6.

However, on the same date, State Police troopers were called to the Man area in regards to a vehicle in the creek behind the Pic Pac grocery store. Trooper Dick found a wrecked car and a wet man apparently suffering frostbite.

“Upon arrival, this officer observed that the vehicle in the creek was the one involved in a pursuit with members of the WVSP earlier in the day,” the report states, “Upon searching the parking lot, this officer observed two individuals who were wet from head to toe. This officer spoke with Gary O’Neal. O’Neal stated that he was not in the vehicle that was located in the creek. After speaking with this officer, the defendant admitted that he was driving the vehicle during the pursuit and also when it went into the creek, failing to report this accident to the police. Through a DMV records inquiry on the defendant, it was ascertained that his driver’s license was suspended through the state of North Carolina. The accuse also stated that the inspection sticker did not belong on the vehicle.

Trooper Dick noticed a female with O’Neal who apparently had a warrant out for her arrest in Wyoming County on battery charges.

Janell Kay Rosenbaum, 33 of Bud, was arrested by Trooper Dick for giving false information to an officer and obstructing an officer on Feb. 6. Rosenbaum was booked at the regional jail at 6:50 p.m.

According to court documents from Wyoming County, on Jan. 9, 2009, Rosenbaum got angry at a bartender who told her she was “cut off”.

An officer had been contacted by the bartender who gave a written statement that on that night, in Mullens “she observed Janell and a gentleman she was with go into the restroom together,” a criminal complaint states. “When she asked them to come out of the restroom, (the victim) stated that Janell could barely walk. The guy Janell was with ordered two beers and the bartender refused them. (The victim) stated that Janell got mad and told her she could not tell her how to spend her money. The bartender then advised her she was cut off. At that time, Rosenbaum climbed upon the bar and hit (the victim) two times. She pushed Rosenbaum off the bar and when she did, Rosenbaum fell on the floor.

“The victim called an ambulance for Rosenbaum. The officer had the bartender identify the defendant from a line up and “she chose Janell Rosenbaum as the person that hit her.”

A different criminal complaint states that on Feb. 6, 2009, Trooper Dick was dispatched to Man about a vehicle in the creek, where he recognized it as being the Monte Carlo involved in an earlier police pursuit. Dick observed two people who were “wet from head to toe” in the parking lot.

“This officer inquired the names of both individuals, at which time the defendant stated her name was Jenell McKinney. Through a DMV records inquiry it was ascertained that no response was available for Jenelle McKinney. After several attempts, this officer was able to ascertain that the defendant’s name was in fact Janell Rosenbaum.”