The man wounded last week in a police shootout on Interstate 95 in Prince William County, Virginia, after he allegedly kidnapped a woman in New York has now been charged.
Michael C. Davis, 34, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, has been charged with one felony count of abduction. Davis was wounded in the April 5 shootout and remains hospitalized at Inova Fairfax Hospital, according to an update Wednesday from Virginia State Police.
The woman Davis is accused of abducting, 34-year-old Tatiana N. David, of Ithaca, New York, was killed in the gunfire.
Additional charges in Virginia are pending as the investigation continues, state police said Wednesday.
Authorities in New York said Davis forced David into his Jeep Cherokee around 7:20 a.m. in New York on the morning of April 5, leading police there to issue an abduction alert.
Several hours later — at about 9:40 p.m. that night — a Virginia State Police trooper was alerted to a Jeep traveling south on I-95 in Fairfax County, Virginia, with an improper registration, meaning the wrong license plates were displayed on it.
When the trooper pulled the Jeep over, he approached the vehicle and spoke to both Davis and David. However, it was only after the trooper returned to his vehicle with the driver’s information that he learned Davis was wanted by New York State Police in the suspected abduction.
“Within seconds of receiving that confirmation, the Jeep pulled away from the shoulder and fled south on I-95,” according to a statement from Virginia State Police.
That led to a police pursuit down I-95. The Jeep struck guardrail near the 152-mile marker but kept going, state police said, even as patrol cars surrounded his vehicle, aiming to bring it to a stop.
In Prince William County, near Exit 148 in Stafford, the Jeep ran off the right side of the road and crashed into nearby woods.
“As soon as the troopers approached the SUV, Davis, who remained in the driver’s seat, began shooting at them,” according to the statement. “State police returned fire.”
A news release from New York State Police last week initially said that Davis got out of the Jeep and began firing on troopers, but that was an error, according to Virginia State Police.
Once Davis stopped shooting, troopers approached the Jeep and pulled both Davis and David from inside to provide medical aid.
David died at the scene. Davis had life-threatening injuries and was flown to Fairfax Inova Hospital.
Police said they found two guns at the scene.
No state police were hurt in the shooting. In accordance with the state policy, the troopers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
