A Lebanon County man charged with committing a string of offenses in Lancaster County municipalities over the course of a single morning that ultimately ended in a fiery crash that left one man with life-threatening injuries and severely injured a woman will have his case proceed to county court following a preliminary hearing yesterday.

Judge Torrey Landis ruled Feb. 17 that the case of Joshua Edwin Quinones, of Jackson Township, could proceed to the Court of Common Pleas on 24 total offenses including three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of robbery, one count of assaulting a law enforcement officer and a single count of stalking, among other charges.

Quinones, 33, is accused of stalking a woman, falsely reporting that a house was on fire, robbing two different gas stations, leading police on a lengthy high-speed chase across multiple townships and nearly striking one officer with his vehicle before ultimately crashing into another car in a Clay Township intersection, causing a massive explosion, all within the span of about two and a half hours the morning of Dec. 20.

A man driving the other vehicle suffered a broken back in multiple locations and other fractures as well as significant facial injuries that required more than 40 screws to be inserted during several reconstruction surgeries and remains hospitalized, though an officer testified during the hearing that he is recovering. The man’s wife, who was seated as his passenger, suffered multiple broken bones and a lacerated tongue in the collision and was recently released from the hospital after also undergoing multiple surgeries.

In a series of five calls to 911 throughout the morning Quinones repeatedly demanded to speak to a female victim and told police to bring her to him. Quinones identified himself as the perpetrator of multiple crimes during the calls.

The string of incidents started shortly after 5 a.m. when Quinones, calling from a disguised phone number, left a six-second voicemail message on the victim’s phone.

Minutes later Quinones called West Earl Township police, claiming that an Akron-area residence where he incorrectly believed the victim lived was on fire.

Numerous fire and EMS departments responded to the falsely reported blaze. The homeowner was surprised to find firefighters dispatched to his home early in the morning and immediately suspected that Quinones was responsible for the false alarm.

Then, shortly after 6:30 a.m., Quinones is alleged to have robbed a gas station in the 600 block of North Oak Street in Warwick Township by indicating to a store employee that he was carrying a gun in his jacket after they did not accept playing cards as payment.

“It looked like he had a gun in there,” the store’s manager said in her testimony.

About 20 minutes later Quinones is alleged to have entered a different gas station, this time in the 3200 block of Lititz Pike in Manheim Township, and demanded money from an employee inside. The store’s manager told the court he handed Quinones nearly $500 in cash from the register, testifying that he feared for his own safety and for the two other employees who were present in the store.

Both robberies were captured on surveillance video with Quinones’ face uncovered.

A Northern Lancaster County Regional police officer spotted Quinones at a Warwick Township intersection mere moments after the second robbery. The first of three different chases began in which the same officer pursued Quinones, who reached speeds of more than 100.

Each of the pursuits were terminated for safety reasons as Quinones sped, drifted into oncoming traffic, ran red lights and dangerously passed other motorists, the officer told the court.

At some point during the pursuits Quinones called 911, telling them he was being chased by law enforcement and again demanding to speak to the victim.

When the same police officer found Quinones again, this time along a Clay Township road, Quinones accelerated toward his patrol vehicle as if he intended to ram it.

“I thought he was going to hit me,” the officer testified. “I braced for impact.”

Though Quinones swerved away from the officer at the last moment, he would crash mere minutes later.

Residential surveillance footage – 49 seconds of which was played for the court – depicted Quinones’ vehicle speeding through a steady red light at the intersection of State Road 322 and Wood Corner Road in Clay Township and striking a passing motorist, causing both vehicles to instantly ignite and burst into flames.

Judge Landis denied Quinones bail in a preliminary arraignment on Dec. 23, determining that no conditions could ensure public safety. Quinones remains in Lancaster County Prison.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Richard Whitehouse filed the charges.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.