Police lights.
A dramatic overnight pursuit early Saturday ended in an arrest after police caught up to a stolen Subaru Impreza, discovered firearms — including one modified with an automatic “switch” — and two state troopers were injured but later released.
At about 1:28 a.m., troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police (Media station) attempted to stop a red Subaru Impreza on I-95 South near mile marker 10 in Tinicum Township in Delaware County.
The vehicle was flagged as stolen by the troopers’ onboard computer system. When the driver sped past them, they attempted to intercept the car further south, about a mile before the I-476 exit in Ridley Township, but the vehicle fled.
A pursuit ensued until troopers deployed spike strips near mile marker 4, successfully deflating the vehicle’s front passenger-side tire. The chase continued for roughly another half-mile before the Subaru rear-ended a marked State Police patrol car.
The driver, Claren Thomas, resisted arrest but was eventually taken into custody; the passenger, Myron Bell, was arrested without incident.
The car was confirmed stolen. Authorities found two firearms inside the vehicle; one weapon had been modified with an automatic conversion device — commonly referred to as a “switch.”
Two troopers struck by the fleeing Subaru were transported to Christiana Hospital in Delaware and treated for injuries; both have since been released.
Police officials say the case now involves charges related to auto theft, flight from police, possibly assault on law enforcement, weapons offenses, and possession of an illegal automatic device. Thomas and Bell remain in custody pending further legal proceedings.
Pennsylvania law prohibits possession of devices that enable firearms to function as fully automatic weapons — these are considered machine guns under federal law and under state law such devices are banned as “offensive weapons.”
Devices such as “Glock switches” or auto-sears have been increasingly seized in criminal investigations, prompting lawmakers to propose legislation to clarify and strengthen enforcement. For example, a memo filed by State Sen. Christine Tartaglione, who represents a district consisting primarily of the Rover Wards, Frankford and Juniata section of Philadelphia, seeks a statewide ban on “machine gun conversion devices,” like switches.
The discovery of a firearm modified with a switch in the vehicle during this I-95 chase is particularly significant — such devices dramatically increase the rate of fire, and even though they are illegal under both federal and Pennsylvanian law, enforcement challenges and legal loopholes persist.
Crime analysts have flagged an uptick in the use of these conversion devices in prosecutions not just in Philadelphia, but across the state and beyond.
