Two men arrested in Vienna during traffic stop

VIENNA, W.Va. (WTAP) - Vienna Police initiated a traffic stop on 19th Street involving a 1994 Ford Mustang at 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning.

The car displayed a license plate that did not belong on the vehicle. The driver of the car was identified as Christopher Persiani and his passenger, Scott Phillips.

While the officers were speaking with the driver of the vehicle, the passenger got out of the car and ran, ignoring the officer’s verbal commands to stop. The Vienna Police K-9, Ronin, was immediately deployed and assisted officers in getting Phillips after a brief chase.

The investigation revealed that both Persiani and Phillips had outstanding warrants for their arrest for prior incidents unrelated to this case.

Persiani was arrested for driving on a suspended driver’s license, no proof of insurance and an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a previous leaving the scene of an accident charge.

Phillips was arrested for fleeing and eluding an officer, obstructing an officer and the outstanding warrants. His outstanding warrants stemmed from a felony parole violation issued by the State of West Virginia Division of Correction and Rehabilitation (previous grand larceny, breaking and entering charge) as well as a felony probation violation issued by the U.S. Marshals Service out of Arlington, VA. (previous weapons offense charge).

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