Three-county chase ends with crash into church

Suspects fleeing from attempted break-in in Wilson led law enforcement on a chase that ended with a crash into a church in Greenville Wednesday, police said.

A woman in the Mary Ella Mobile Home Park on Stantonsburg Road went to investigate someone at her door around 11 a.m. and found two men using a crowbar to try to open her door chain lock, police said. The men fled when they saw the resident, who called 911.

Officers spotted the suspects' vehicle – a gold 1996 Nissan Maxima – near Ward Boulevard and Black Creek Road.

Police said that the men led law enforcement on a chase through the city of Wilson and along U.S. Highway 264 East, N.C Highway 91 and U.S. Highway 13. Wilson and Greenville police, Wilson and Pitt County sheriff's deputies and the state Highway Patrol helped with the pursuit.

Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a church near the intersection of Greenville Boulevard and Allen Road in Greenville, which authorities had blocked off.

The driver – identified as Milton Rhontaye Satchell, 20, of 7167 Powell Hooks Road in Lucama – was apprehended at the wreck scene. Police said a passenger identified as Steven Purvis, 26, of 401 Jones St. in Williamston, ran but was captured after a short foot chase.

They were both treated at Pitt Regional Memorial Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said that Wilson County deputies found a pistol along N.C. 91 where officers had seen something being thrown from the suspects' vehicle.

Purvis and Satchell were charged with attempted breaking-and-entering. Satchell also faces numerous traffic offenses.

Police in Owensboro, Ken., had arrest warrants out charging Purvis with one count of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Purvis was also listed as an absconder from probation or parole supervision by the North Carolina Department of Correction.

DOC records show that Purvis served nearly 2 years in prison for a 2006 conviction for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He was also placed on probation for a 2006 conviction for felony assault with a deadly weapon.