Amherst man admits guilt to multi-county high speed chase as part of plea agreement

Carl Byron Viar Jr.

An Amherst County man pleaded guilty to three felony charges as the result of an 85-mile police chase at speeds often in excess of 100 miles per hour over roads in New Kent and Charles City counties as part of a plea agreement in Monday morning New Kent Circuit Court proceedings.

Carl Byron Viar Jr., 26, entered guilty pleas to one count each of felony eluding of police, possession of a Schedule I or II narcotic, and ammunition possession by a convicted felon. Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory elected to drop one charge of firearm possession by a non-violent felon and possession of a firearm while in possession of a Schedule I or II narcotic due to the defendant driving his father’s vehicle.

In a summary of evidence, events began around 4:50 a.m. on Jan. 2 when State Police Trooper Matthew D. Jester detected a 2006 Ford pickup driven by Viar whiz through radar at 100 miles per hour near the 217-mile marker on westbound Interstate 64.

A 50-minute video presented as evidence by the Commonwealth showed Jester speaking with the driver and ordering his hands out the window after he was first pulled over at the westbound rest area on Interstate 64 at mile marker 213. On the video, Jester can plainly be heard ordering the driver to pull over. He then unleashes a barrage of questions including, “How many people in the truck?” and “Any guns in the truck?” Responses from the driver, however, are muffled and mostly inaudible.

Jester then orders the driver to “keep your arms out the window where I can see them.” He continues, accusing the driver of swerving in and out of lanes and cutting off two or three other motorists. He tells the driver the pickup came through radar at 100 miles per hour, reaching a peak speed of 123 during the chase.

Apparently the driver replies that he was unaware of the speed, to which Jester counters, “Ain’t no way you didn’t know you were going that fast.”
As the conversation goes on, Jester asks, “Are you sure you don’t have anything illegal in the car?”

The tone then appears to become more confrontational. At one point, Jester tells the driver, “Shut up and let me talk.” Testifying in court, Jester labeled the driver’s responses as “kind of lackadaisical.

After other officers arrived at the scene, Jester documented information on the driver and returned to the vehicle to question Viar about the strong odor of marijuana coming from the truck. The trooper ordered the driver to step out of the vehicle, but that’s when the vehicle sped away. Jester raced back to his cruiser and, along with another state police unit and a New Kent sheriff’s deputy that had driven to the scene, gave chase.

Video evidence detailed the route of the 85-mile pursuit. The pickup took the off-ramp at the Talleysville/Route 106 exit but continued across 106 to the westbound on-ramp and back on to I-64. Reaching the Quinton/Route 249 interchange, the vehicle took the exit and sped east on 249 through Quinton.

The pickup turned south on 106 before making a u-turn at Pine Fork Road and returning to 249 where it continued east to Route 155. Turning south on 155, the chase rolled through Providence Forge, heading south over the CSX Railroad tracks into Charles City County and eventually reaching Route 5.

At the Route 5 intersection, the pickup turned west, continuing to Route 106 where it turned again, heading north. Just before reaching the New Kent line, the vehicle made another right turn, this time on to Barnetts Road. The chase proceeded south on Barnetts, back to Route 5 before again turning west and speeding into Henrico County.

By this time, several officers from four agencies (State Police, Henrico Police, and Charles City and New Kent sheriff’s offices) had become involved in the incident. Henrico also employed a helicopter and airplane.

Henrico officers, meanwhile, deployed spike strips on Route 5, about two miles beyond the Charles City/Henrico line. The spikes punctured two of the pickup’s tires, but the vehicle failed to stop until it turned into a private driveway off Willis Church Road. Viar fled on foot, but surrendered to authorities the next day.

Jester said speeds during the chase reached over 100 miles per hour on I-64 and routes 249, 106, and 155 in New Kent. The pursuit slowed to the 50-60 mile per hour range through Providence Forge, but increased substantially in Charles City to over 100. Speed on straight stretches of highway topped out at 115 miles per hour while averaging 95 miles per hour on Barnetts Road, he said.

Jester said he slowed his cruiser on several occasions due to the danger factor.

“At one point, I told the dispatcher I was going to back down because this is going to end not well,” he told the court.

A search of the pickup revealed a small amount of marijuana along with drug paraphernalia, including cotton swabs “containing residue consistent with heroin or cocaine,” in a black box underneath the passenger’s side seat. Also found was bolt-action rifle ammunition, prompting the ammunition charge lodged against the defendant.

Judge Robert Curran accepted the plea agreement, setting a tentative formal sentencing date for the defendant of Sept. 30. Viar entered no contest pleas in New Kent General District Court on May 6 to misdemeanor counts of marijuana possession and reckless driving, as well as a seat belt infraction. He received six months in jail with all suspended on the marijuana charge, and 10 days in jail plus a $500 fine for the reckless driving charge.