Wild car chase ends in shots, arrest

A Severna Park man faces assault and traffic charges after he led Anne Arundel County and state police on a wild chase that ended in Frederick County after police shot him early yesterday morning.

Shawn Alfred Chowanetz, 25, of the 1200 block of Purnell Road, was in serious condition yesterday with a gunshot wound to his arm at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

He is charged with assault with intent to murder, auto theft, theft, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

The incident started at 12:45 a.m. when police received a shoplifting complaint from the 7-Eleven store at Jumper's Hole Road and Benfield Boulevard and later spotted the suspect in a red Dodge Daytona, stolen from West Virginia, heading north on Ritchie Highway. As officers tried to stop the driver, he crossed the median strip into the southbound lanes, police said.

After crossing the median strip several times and driving in the wrong direction, the driver stopped and got out. As the officers approached, he got back into the car and tried to run two `D officers down, police said. Police followed the driver to I-97, to the Beltway and onto I-70 toward Frederick County where State Police joined the chase.

On I-70, the driver stopped in the median strip and police walked up to the car. The driver again changed his mind and tried to run them down, but only grazed an Anne Arundel officer.

The officer fired one shot at the driver while state troopers fired several at the tires of the car, police said. About a half a mile down I-70, the man stopped again and officers arrested him, police said.