ROCKINGHAM COUNTY VA: (Rocktown Now) — A dramatic multi-agency pursuit late Wednesday night ended with the arrest of a wanted suspect after a standoff on an interstate overpass.
According to authorities, at approximately 9 p.m., members of the RUSH Drug Task Force spotted Jeffrey Mongold, a known wanted individual, driving in the University Boulevard area of Harrisonburg. When a Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) patrol unit attempted to stop the vehicle near Valley Mall, Mongold fled, sparking a high-speed chase.
The pursuit involved RCSO and Virginia State Police and stretched across multiple jurisdictions. The suspect’s vehicle traveled along Port Road, then southbound on Interstate 81 into Augusta County before turning around near Weyers Cave and heading north on Route 11 back into Rockingham County.
Deputies successfully deployed spike strips near Mount Crawford, disabling the vehicle. Mongold then exited on the Friedens Church Road overpass and threatened to jump from the bridge. After a brief standoff, law enforcement officers persuaded him to surrender peacefully.
Mongold was taken into custody without injury. He faces his original drug-related charges, along with felony eluding charges stemming from the chase. Additional charges are pending. He is being held without bond at the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail.
According to online records, the bond hearing that was slated for Thursday afternoon for Mongold was continued until March 26th in general district court.
