A Tamaqua man who led a West Penn Township police officer on a 120 mph chase in February 2017 will spend up to four years and five months in state prison.

Schuylkill County Judge Charles M. Miller accepted Daniel J. Leibenguth’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 27 to 54 months in state prison.

Leibenguth, 44, pleaded guilty to theft, fleeing or eluding police, criminal mischief and careless driving.

Charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, reckless driving and two counts of recklessly endangering another person were dropped.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, police on Feb. 15, 2017 responded to a report of a Subaru Outback stolen from in front of a home in the 500 block of West Penn Pike (Route 309).

About 10 minutes later, he saw the car heading south on the highway.

Brown activated his lights and sirens, and Leibenguth hit the gas pedal.

He hit speeds of up to 120 mph, passing vehicles on double yellow lines and running oncoming vehicles off the road.

Leibenguth finally lost control of the car, flipping it in the front yard of 6760 Route 309.

He scrambled out of the car and ran into the woods, fields and golf course behind the house.

Officer Harry E. Brown, hot on Leibenguth’s heels, called for him to stop.

He was caught and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The car’s owner, David Barron, said he had just stopped and gotten out of the car when Leibenguth jumped into it and took off. Barron said he jumped through one of the windows to try to stop Leibenguth, who just kept driving, injuring Barron.