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Officers were contacted about a stolen car in the parking lot of a Downingtown Wawa just before 2 a.m. on Feb. 22, District Attorney Deb Ryan's office said following a preliminary investigation.
"Later, the suspect who had been driving the stolen vehicle stole another car that was parked at the Wawa," the DA wrote.
Police began to pursue the car after the driver refused to pull over, officials said. The chase took officers into a residential neighborhood in Caln Township, where one officer got out of his car at the intersection of Westerham and Shelburne roads to lay down immobilizing "stop-strips," authorities said.
While grabbing the equipment from his trunk, the policeman reportedly saw the suspect driving head-on toward his squad car "at a high rate of speed," authorities said.
He dove out of the way just before the suspect vehicle collided with the cop car, they continued. After the impact, the suspect hopped out of his car and began walking away from the approaching police, the DA's office said.
"The officers approached within 15 feet of the suspect when he stopped, turned to face the officers, reached his hand behind his back, quickly raised his hands clutched together while pointing toward the officers and stated, 'I’ll shoot,'" the District Attorney said.
One officer fired four rounds at the suspect, striking him in the right leg, authorities wrote. Then, prosecutors said the man "stood up," "refused to follow directions," and "continued to indicate to officers that he was looking for his gun."
When authorities got "within arm’s length" of the suspect, they noticed he was unarmed and "attempted to de-escalate the situation." Officers said they used a TASER device to subdue him after he made a final attempt to enter the stolen car.
The suspect, 56-year-old Richard Luminello of Houtzdale, Clearfield County, was treated for a gunshot wound to the thigh and a fractured elbow at Paoli Hospital, the DA's Office said.
Luminello was discharged from the hospital late Wednesday and was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault, vehicle theft, and related counts, CTPD said on Facebook. He sits in the Chester County lockup awaiting his arraignment hearing as of Wednesday night, they added.
A full investigation is underway by Chester County detectives, DA Ryan said, adding that their findings will be made public when available.
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