Weston Man Indicted After 100-Plus MPH Chase in Which He Allegedly Pointed a Shotgun at an Officer

A Lewis County grand jury has indicted a Weston man accused of leading officers on a chase that topped 100 miles per hour and pointing a shotgun toward a pursuing officer's vehicle along the way.

Michael Chad Toms, 49, of Weston, faces one count of fleeing in a vehicle with reckless indifference, two counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm, and one count of use or presentation of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The grand jury also returned misdemeanor counts of petit larceny and brandishing a deadly weapon.

How it started

The case goes back to August 7, when officers were called to the Holiday Inn Express in Weston on a report of a man with a shotgun. According to court documents, Toms drove away as officers arrived, and what followed was a high-speed pursuit that reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

During the chase, court documents say, Toms waved a shotgun out of his window and pointed it toward an officer's vehicle that was following him. Officers reported smelling burnt gunpowder, and when they later searched his vehicle, they found a shotgun with a spent cartridge still in the chamber, according to the documents.

Spike strips ended the chase

Officers eventually laid down spike strips to bring the pursuit to a stop. Toms was taken into custody without further incident.

It's the kind of call that reminds all of us what our local officers can be driving into on any given day.

An indictment is a formal charge, not a finding of guilt. Toms is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.