PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth police are still looking for a man who jumped from the West Norfolk Bridge to evade arrest after a pursuit early Tuesday morning — and later walked by WAVY’s crew at the scene.
It started at 4:52 a.m. near the 3100 block of Deep Creek Boulevard and the suspect crashed the vehicle at 5:26 a.m. on the bridge, police say. Two other men were apprehended and police were still looking for the driver, 26-year-old Alex Tew, as of Tuesday afternoon.
Police say Tew was wanted for a felony probation violation charge in Chesapeake and a domestic assault charge in Suffolk.
On Thursday, Portsmouth police said they secured warrants for Tew that include carjacking, 2 counts of abduction, felony eluding, 3 counts of grand larceny, obstruction of justice and driving while revoked.
In addition to the warrants, investigators recovered four stolen motorcycles, a stolen van and a stolen trailer.
A WAVY News photographer spotted a man who appeared to be the suspect get out of the water near the bridge Tuesday morning and walk away. He was shivering and walking with a limp.
WAVY reached out to police and they confirmed the man was indeed Tew.
WAVY viewer, Billy Joe Esquivel, captured the same person on his Ring camera moments after that encounter. The video shows Tew running across a driveway and front yard.
The Coast Guard and K9 teams joined in the search and police were looking in nearby neighborhoods Tuesday morning.
The West Norfolk Bridge has since reopened.
WAVY News has reported on Tew previously. In January, 2020, he was arrested following a police pursuit from North Carolina into Chesapeake and Portsmouth.
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