ASHE COUNTY, N.C. — An Ashe County man is facing multiple charges after deputies say he led law enforcement on a vehicle pursuit following a reported break-in and was later found with a modified BB pistol that looked like a real handgun.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded Wednesday afternoon to a reported breaking and entering in progress at a home on Wind Dancer Ridge Road in West Jefferson.
Home security footage helped investigators identify the suspect as 63-year-old Lindsay Edwin Milam.
[ ALSO READ: Union County man charged following home break-in near Waxhaw ]
Deputies later went to Milam’s home to investigate and spotted what appeared to be a handgun on the dashboard of an orange vehicle. When Milam drove away onto Highway 163, deputies attempted a traffic stop using lights and sirens.
Authorities said Milam refused to stop, leading deputies on a pursuit that continued onto Frank Dillard Road before ending in a field off Tom McNeill Road. Several vehicle collisions occurred as deputies worked to safely end the chase.
After Milam was taken into custody, investigators determined the firearm seen inside the vehicle was actually a BB pistol. Deputies said the orange safety tip had been cut off and drilled out, making it appear nearly identical to a real handgun.
Two deputies and Milam suffered minor injuries during the incident and were taken to Ashe Memorial Hospital. The deputies were treated and released. Milam was later released from the hospital and booked into the Ashe County Detention Center.
Milam is charged with injury to personal property, resisting a public officer, misdemeanor larceny, damage to property, and felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle. He is being held under a $25,000 bond.