Four teenagers from Kingsport, Tennessee, have been sentenced in connection with a chaotic February 2025 chase that began with a stolen pickup vehicle and ended with gunfire directed at Pennsylvania state troopers on Interstate 81. Two of the four, Christian Guerrero and Braedon Willis, were sentenced to 8-16 years in state prison for firing multiple rounds at troopers from the truck’s rear seat. Kadence Gooch and Jeremiah Begley, who did not discharge weapons during the chase, received significantly reduced terms for collaborating with prosecutors or agreeing to lesser offenses.
According to PennLive, the case’s judge, Steve Zawisky, described the chase as “the stuff of movies.” The saga began on February 19, 2025, when the four teenagers stole a red pickup truck from an Oklahoma man near Kingsport, Tennessee, according to criminal records obtained by PennLive. According to FOX43 News, the truck’s owner was out of town and had no idea it had been stolen until police called him after the chase concluded.
According to PennLive, before driving north, the four teenagers stole four automobiles in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, looking for cash and only got $15.00. The group had planned to travel to Florida but instead went to Connecticut with the intention of stealing from wealthy individuals, according to PennLive.
Their route brought them to I-81, where a New York mother called police about 12:40 p.m. on February 23, 2025, after witnessing one of the adolescents waving a gun at her while she was driving with her 7- and 3-year-old children near mile marker 57.1 in Cumberland County. That timetable is consistent with Skook News’ previous reporting, which revealed the original motorist allegation of occupants brandishing a pistol at other vehicles in Silver Spring Township.
Pennsylvania State Police stopped the Toyota about 20 miles north on I-81 in West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, but the driver drove away after initially pulling over to the shoulder, according to PennLive. When troopers caught up around the 7000 block of Manor Drive, Guerrero and Willis fired multiple rounds at them from the rear seat, one of which struck a trooper’s patrol vehicle. According to Skook News, authorities found three shell casings at the scene after gunfire impacted a cruiser’s headlight. According to PennLive, the troopers were not hurt, but sentence parameters were later aggravated because the potential homicide victim was a state trooper.
The chase lasted from Cumberland County to Schuylkill County before the fleeing truck became stalled near a Walmart in St. Clair Township. Gooch and Willis were detained on the scene, while Guerrero and Begley fled. Surveillance footage seen by Skook News shows Guerrero and Begley entering Walmart, removing their original attire and shoplifting new outfits before fleeing out a southeast emergency exit to avoid the police barricade. According to FOX43 News, Willis was eventually discovered hiding inside a neighboring pizza restaurant, whereas Gooch was apprehended on an adjacent hill.
According to Newsradio 1070 WKOK, Guerrero and Begley were fugitives for four days until being apprehended by U.S. Marshals, Hartford Police, and Pennsylvania State Police in Hartford, Connecticut. Both were then extradited to Pennsylvania to face charges, according to PennLive.
Guerrero and Willis pled guilty in June to attempted homicide, three charges of receiving stolen property, and carrying a firearm without a license, according to PennLive. Both received a year and several months of credit toward their 8- to 16-year sentences. Willis apparently expressed contrition for the shooting, according to the publication.
Begley, who did not shoot during the chase and refused to participate in the investigation, pled guilty to two felonies for receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a child. He was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison for possessing a stolen gun during the incident, and he received 514 days of jail time credit as well as two years of probation that ran concurrently with his stolen-property term.
Gooch, who drove the stolen truck and had no prior criminal record, cooperated with the police and pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment. According to PennLive, she was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in prison with 528 days of jail time credit, which means she might be paroled immediately.
Begley, Gooch, Guerrero, and Willis were aged 17 to 18 at the time of the chase; Begley was 19 and Gooch was 19 at the time of sentencing. According to a news statement from the Judicial Conduct Board, charges of attempted homicide or criminal homicide filed against adolescents aged 15 and up are automatically removed from juvenile court jurisdiction and submitted directly in adult criminal court. That provision explains why the teens, despite their ages at the time, were sentenced in Common Pleas court rather than the juvenile system.
According to Goldstein Mehta LLC, attempted homicide convictions in Pennsylvania carry statutory maximum penalties of up to 20 years in state prison per count, increasing to 40 years if the crime causes serious physical injury. According to Pennsylvania State Police data, there were 2,718 motor vehicle chases in the state in 2022, with 57 percent ending in arrests and more than 28 percent resulting in wrecks or injuries.
According to PennLive, Guerrero moved his mother from Florida to Pennsylvania to be closer to him after his imprisonment. According to published reports, it is unknown how the boys obtained the firearms used in the chase before their multi-state trip began.
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