NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A man has plead guilty to felony eluding in a 2023 incident where he sped away from police in a stolen vehicle, which resulted in a pursuit through the Downtown Tunnel before ending in Portsmouth.
The incident, which happened on Oct. 23, 2023, began when Norfolk Police patrol officers attempted to pull over a car that had been reported stolen. The driver, later identified as 36-year old Blake Victor Butler, did not pull over, which resulted in a chase that reached speeds of up to 90 mph through the streets of Norfolk.
Police chased Butler through the Downtown Tunnel into Portsmouth before canceling the chase due to unsafe conditions. After losing the police, Butler abandoned the car and fled to a nearby grocery store, where he was identified by police via surveillance footage that matched the description of the driver they had previously received…