After Two High-Speed Crashes, K-9 Captures Fugitive Wanted In Several Jurisdictions

Phillip Edwin Tanner (L) and K-9 Remi (R)Photo byFauquier County Sheriff's Office

WARRENTON, Va. – A man with a decades-long criminal history and recent warrants was finally captured overnight in Fauquier County. 

According to a media release issued by the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office (FCSO), the latest episode began on July 10, 2024. Near Remington, deputies noticed a Ford Thunderbird that had been reported stolen out of Madison County.  

A FCSO deputy attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop. A pursuit ultimately ended on Scottsville Road in Culpeper County when the deputy employed a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) – a maneuver in which a pursuing vehicle forces another vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, causing the second vehicle to lose control and stop.

The subject and the stolen Ford Thunderbird were forced off the road. The deputy also crashed. The subject escaped into the woods. The deputy was transported to the hospital, treated, and later released.

Despite the assistance of many surrounding law enforcement agencies, a large-scale, hours-long operation to find the subject in deep woods was unsuccessful.

During the investigation, deputies learned that the burglary of a business on Lucky Hill Road in Remington had been reported that morning. FCSO detectives investigating the burglary began discovering connections to the subject and vehicle involved in the Scottsville Road pursuit.  

An executed search warrant of the Thunderbird found multiple firearms and items allegedly stolen from the Lucky Hill Road business.

At 3:04 a.m. on July 11, the Culpeper Police Department issued a BOLO (“be on the lookout”) for a stolen 2014 red Subaru. 

At 3:30 a.m., FCSO deputies spotted the stolen vehicle traveling north on James Madison Highway, near Remington, and attempted a traffic stop. However, the driver refused, and a short pursuit was initiated. The chase ended with a deputy employing a PIT maneuver.  

The subject quickly exited the vehicle and ran. The deputy, a K9 handler, released his four-legged partner “Remi,” who swiftly apprehended and held the driver so deputies could take him into custody.  

The driver was identified as Phillip Edwin Tanner, and he was the same subject involved in the pursuit (and alleged robbery) the day before.  

Tanner, who was arrested on outstanding warrants in four different jurisdictions, has a decades-long criminal history. He faces many potential misdemeanor and felony charges for his alleged eluding and grand larceny crimes in Fauquier County.