A motorist with a history of
leading police on high-speed chases will face sentencing May 1 in Allegan County Circuit Court for his latest arrest last May 28 in Watson Township.
Mark David Wood, 54, of Kalamazoo pleaded guilty March 6 to one count of second degree fleeing and eluding a police officer as a habitual offender, second offense, in connection with an incident that began in Wayland Township. Maximum penalty for the charge is a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $7,500.
A trooper with the Wayland post of the Michigan State Police said he stopped Wood that night almost a year ago and when he got out of his patrol car Wood sped away. A 45-year-old female passenger jumped out of Wood’s car as he took off and she was later treated at a hospital for a broken collarbone.
Wood finally was captured in Watson Township after his car was stuck in the woods.
Wood in 2005 led police on a chase in 2005 in which an officer was killed. He told Judge Kevin Cronin he fled officer May 28 last year because he was a coward and he panicked.
Wood remains in jail on charge awaiting sentencing.
