Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A man from the Town of Brant is set to serve some prison time after taking a joyride in a New York State Police patrol vehicle back in October last year.
41-year-old Bryan Ells was sentenced Thursday morning before Acting Erie County Court Judge Andrew LoTempio, where he received an indeterminate sentence of 1-to-3 years in prison.
It was on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at approximately 4:17 p.m. when a New York State Trooper initiated a traffic stop for a traffic violation on Aldrich Street in the Village of Gowanda. The defendant, who was a passenger of the vehicle, was wanted on a warrant from Chautauqua County.
Ells was subsequently handcuffed and placed in the rear of the State Police patrol vehicle.
While the van was being searched, Ells managed to escape the rear seat and drove off in the patrol vehicle. He then unlawfully fled police in the patrol vehicle, which was found occupied on Gowanda Zoar Road in the Town of Collins. When located by members of the Erie County Sheriff's Office, the defendant intentionally drove the stolen patrol vehicle at a high rate of speed and nearly hit a Sheriff's Office vehicle.
The stolen patrol vehicle was later found unoccupied on Eaton Road in the hamlet of Versailles, while Ells was found inside a nearby residence, where he was taken into custody.
Ells pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (Class "D" felony) and one count of Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree (Class "A" misdemeanor) back in December. He pleaded guilty to the highest sustainable charge.
