A Columbia man will serve 7 to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to 13 offenses following a robbery and high-speed chase in April 2021.

Joel Z. White, 29 of the 700 block of South 12^th Street, pleaded guilty on March 7, 2022, to six felonies, and seven misdemeanors. White was sentenced by Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker on July 5, 2022.

The first-degree felony offenses included burglary, robbery, and robbery of motor vehicle. The third-degree felonies included theft by unlawful taking and two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude officer. The first-degree misdemeanors included terroristic threats, possession of a firearm or other weapon, and two counts of simple assault. The ungraded misdemeanors included driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On April 18, 2021, around 3 a.m., East Lampeter Township Police pursued a black Volkswagen Jetta eastbound in the 2200 block of Lincoln Highway East. The vehicle was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour in a posted 40 MPH zone and traveled into Strasburg Borough.

A query of the registration yielded the vehicle belonged to White.

White parked in the parking lot of The Willows at Historic Strasburg and exited his vehicle, fleeing on foot toward the southwest. East Lampeter Township Police located a large, black knife sheath in plain view inside the vehicle.

At approximately 3:11 a.m., a victim called emergency dispatch and related a tall, white male wielding a large knife broke into their home and threatened harm if they did not give him their vehicle. White then took the victims’ blue Honda CRV, which was located by East Lampeter Township Police and Pennsylvania State Police. Police initiated emergency lights and sirens as White was traveling northbound on State Road 0896 at speeds of 120 MPH and swerving into oncoming lanes of traffic.

White continued to proceed through red lights, almost striking multiple other vehicles, before police successfully executed a PIT maneuver on Old Philadelphia Pike and took the defendant into custody.

A search incident to arrest yielded a hypodermic needle, methamphetamine, 19 Buprenorphine, Naloxone sublingual films, and the knife.

White admitted to using methamphetamine to police.

“It’s a miracle that no one was killed as a result of the defendant’s actions,” prosecuting Assistant District Attorney Christie Wilson said during the proceeding. “He drove at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour under the influence of methamphetamine, while fleeing from the police. He then broke into the victim’s home while brandishing a large knife and threatening them if they did not give him their car. If that wasn’t enough, he went back onto the roadway with a stolen vehicle and again fled at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. He put countless lives in danger that night. Based on the facts, this is a case where an aggravated range sentence could not be more appropriate.”

White was further sentenced to three years of consecutive probation, pay $19,504 in restitution, and have no further contact with the victims.

Pennsylvania State Trooper Alexander Barry filed charges.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.