A Lancaster city man was sentenced to two and a half to seven years in state prison last week after he was found guilty earlier this year of leading police on a high-speed chase.

In handing down his sentence on May 21, Judge Jeffrey Conrad told Jorge L. Santiago, of the 100 block of Coral Street, that public roadways “are not made to play fast and furious on.”

“You race on a track, not on the highway,” Judge Conrad said.

Police in Lancaster city had attempted to pull over Santiago, 26, for a routine traffic stop in the 1000 block of Dillerville Road in December 2022, but Santiago instead sped away, blowing through at least one stop sign during the chase.  

First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade, who prosecuted the case, said Santiago’s actions were a “broach of the public peace” that posed a “high risk of danger to the public” including drivers, pedestrians and public safety resources.

Judge Conrad challenged Santiago in the future to “pull over and take the lumps like a man,” telling him that his sentence could be “an opportunity to turn things around.”

Santiago told the court he wished to put the situation behind him and to move forward with his life.

A Lancaster County jury had found Santiago guilty of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer in March. Judge Conrad also found Santiago guilty of two summary traffic offenses at that time.

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Adam Flurry filed the charges.