Dead Body Found in Car Involved in Pursuit with Armed Suspect Arrested in Warren County
UPDATE
Pennsylvania State Police have charged the man at the center a 22-hour manhunt with homicide after investigators found a dead body in a vehicle used during a pursuit.
Cody Potthoff is charged in the death.
Investigators said the body was found in a Nissan Sentra, which took off during an attempted traffic stop by Edinboro Police Wednesday, when they executed a search warrant on the car Thursday.
The name of the victim has not been released.
Troopers also identified Cameron Zimmerman, 24, as an accomplice. He faces charges including abuse of a corpse and is currently behind bars in the Erie County Prison.
Police have also been searching for a missing person, but troopers have not yet located the person.
State Police said one of the several vehicles Potthoff stole while running from police was a man's pickup truck from a Harborcreek home. We learned from neighbors the suspect drove away with the victim, who is still missing, inside the truck.
Potthoff was arrested around 8:40 a.m. Thursday at a homeless shelter in Warren County.
EARLIER COVERAGE
Pennsylvania State Police arrested armed suspect Cody Potthoff in Warren County Thursday after a manhunt lasting about 22 hours.
Troopers said Potthoff is the suspect in a death investigation and was wanted in connection to an attempted homicide, robbery, missing person case, burglary and multiple stolen vehicles.
A second person was also taken into custody Thursday.
Edinboro Police notified State Police one of their officers was in pursuit of a silver Nissan Sentra they tried to stop on Rt. 6N near Perry Lane in Edinboro Borough around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, State Police said. The vehicle came to a stop, and a passenger got out. He was instructed to get back inside, the passenger took a step back, and the driver took off at a high speed.
The vehicle turned north onto Perry Lane, east onto Hillcrest Dr., north on Dundon Rd. and crashed through a metal gate, damaging the vehicle to the point where it could not be driven, according to troopers.
A man ran from the vehicle into a field toward Hamilton Rd. An officer traveling east on Route 6N saw the man walking along a fence and found out from a homeowner a man matching the description had just stolen his ATV, State Police said.
A short time later, a man matching the same description robbed a person at gunpoint at a Crane Rd. residence in Washington Township, according to investigators. He stole a Chevrolet truck and took off.
Information led State Police to Mindi Court Trailer Park in Harborcreek Township where the suspect was reportedly spotted, but the man was not found, State Police said.
Troopers later learned the suspect arrived at a Columbus Township home in a red pickup truck, which was registered to a person who lives on Dynes Ave. in Harborcreek, which is near Mindi Court Trailer Park where the man was reportedly spotted, according to investigators.
State Police developed additional information and called in the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) to search a residence on Route 6 in Columbus Township, but the suspect was not there,troopers said.
Troopers later discovered the suspect entered a residence on Center Rd. in Columbus Township between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and stole a Jeep Liberty from a garage, according to State Police.
Potthoff and another suspect were then taken into custody Thursday morning.
State Police said the investigation is ongoing.