Mar 5, 2026 2 min read

State police charged a man Tuesday for fleeing a traffic stop and then jumping out of his moving vehicle last month.

Robert Steven Fuller, 32, of Washington, faces felony charges of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, escape and flight to avoid apprehension. Police also charged him with misdemeanors of evading arrest, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, reckless endangerment, obstruction and disorderly conduct.

According to the criminal complaint, shortly after 11 p.m. Feb. 13, a state trooper tried to pull over Fuller in the 1000 block of Summerlea Avenue, Washington, for suspended vehicle registration.

Charging documents state that Fuller sped away and ran multiple stop signs at a high rate of speed. Fuller turned from North Main Street onto Beech Street Extension in South Strabane Township, and when the car slowed down to about 10 mph he and the front-seat passenger jumped out and continued to flee on foot, the complaint states. The vehicle went off the road and crashed into a fence.

Police pursued the passenger and were able to catch him after he slipped on ice, and he was identified as Eric Dean Richards.

According to the complaint, Richards was in possession of suspected cocaine and a pipe. Richards, 54, of Washington, was charged with misdemeanors of evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest.

Police found Fuller’s father still in the backseat of the vehicle. He identified Fuller, and said his son had run because he had an active warrant for his arrest.

Inside the car, police allegedly found suspected crack cocaine and a scale.

Fuller is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges at 9:45 a.m. March 10.