2 arrested following car chase, driver on parole for murder

GATES, N.Y. (WHEC) — Police arrested two men on Chili Avenue after they failed to stop for police. The driver of the vehicle was on parole for murder.

Gates Police say that upon attempting to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation, the officer learned that the registered owner of the vehicle was currently on parole for murder in the second degree.

The car didn’t stop for officers, and as it approached the canal bridge, items were thrown out of the passenger side window. The items discarded were a loaded .380 caliber handgun and some crack cocaine. The vehicle pursuit continued to Arnett Boulevard in the city where the vehicle stopped.

Police took the driver, Michael McCoy, 40, into custody as the passenger, John Watkins, 39, ran from police. Watkins was later located and detained by RPD in the Arnett Blvd area.

Both men were charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.

The two men were arraigned in Gates court and remanded to the Monroe County jail without bail due to both having a criminal history.