DePaul Grad, National Guardsman Leads Police In 60-Mile Chase

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A wild 60-mile police chase of an armored personnel carrier in Virginia went viral Wednesday.

Police identified the man inside the armored carrier as national guardsman Joshua Yabut.

CBS 2 has learned he is a graduate of DePaul University.

CBS 2's Audrina Bigos reports after graduating from DePaul, 29-year-old Joshua Yabut served time in Afghanistan and worked at NASA's Langley Research Center for three years.

He is currently a First Lieutenant assigned as a company commander in the Virginia Army National Guard.

The police chased Yabut for 60 miles with sirens blaring, as onlookers pulled out their phones to capture the getaway vehicle: an armored personnel carrier taken Tuesday night from the Fort Pickett National Guard Base in Virginia.

Officials say Yabut has served nearly 11 years with the National Guard. Before that, DePaul University confirms Yabut earned a bachelor's degree cum laude from the university in 2012, then a master of science in information technology project management in 2014.

During the two hour chase, Yabut posted a video which appears to show him driving.

Police say he had a gun, but no ammunition. Police do not believe any other weapons were in the vehicle.

Yabut also posted photos of the empty seat inside the carrier and tweeted, "Man, am I thirsty."

He eventually led police up I-95 to Richmond, Virginia. That is where he stopped and was taken into custody just before 10 p.m.

Yabut was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, felony eluding police, and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Virginia State Police and the National Guard are investigating.

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