Fugitive caught after four-week run

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: April 17, 2008

STAFFORD — A 26-year-old fugitive who was on the run from authorities since March has been caught near the scene of the crime.

Michael Axtman, of 47 England Run Lane in Stafford County was arrested on April 11 after leaving a WaWa gas station on Warrenton Road, according to Bill Kennedy with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

A call came in tipping authorities off to Axtman’s location, stating that he was heading southbound along Warrenton Road in a white van. A Stafford officer followed the van and eventually pulled it over.

Axtman, who was sitting in the rear of the van, allegedly resisted arrest by opening the rear door of the van and fled the scene.

After a brief foot chase, deputies caught and handcuffed the fugitive “after a great deal of resistance,” according to Kennedy.
During his transport to Rappahannock Regional Jail, Axtman attempted to free himself of his handcuffs, breaking the interior door handle and window controls inside the police cruiser, police said.

On March 24, Axtman was allegedly driving his four-door Pontiac Grand Am at speeds in excess of 70 mph on Warrenton Road. When a Stafford County Sheriff’s officer tried to stop him, Axtman allegedly resisted, maintained his speed while turning onto a dirt road, and eventually collided with a fallen tree.
Axtman eluded police and fled the scene on foot.

In the car with Axtman at the time of the crash was an intoxicated 13-year-old girl, who was taken that night to Mary Washington Hospital by authorities, according to Kennedy.

Axtman now faces a string of charges that include attempted escape and vandalism to public property. He is being held in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.