A Rochester man wanted in a string of burglaries was arrested after a chase by Ontario County Deputies yesterday that ended when his fleeing pickup truck blew a tire and crashed in a parking lot on Saturday.
Deputies say 41-year-old Joseph Whitney and 57-year-old Melinda Kress of Rochester were arrested after a search found the truck filled with stolen guns and tools. Deputies got onto his trail after he was spotted fleeing a burglary scene in Bristol. Both are charged with illegal weapons possession, but further charges are pending.
Deputies chased the red Chevy pickup from Johnson Hill Road in Bristol to where it cut across a soybean field along Brace Road in East Bloomfield. The truck was heavily damaged and blew a tire, but went back onto the highway and up Route 444 onto Route 96 before crashing into the parking lot of the Railside Market in Victor
Whitney was uninjured, but Kress was taken to Thompson Hospital to be treated for minor injuries. A K9 Unit was injured during the pursuit and was treated by a veterinarian.
The sheriff’s office says Whitney is suspected in numerous burglaries across Ontario and other counties over the past several months.