MOUNDSVILLE — An early morning high-speed chase that started in New Martinsville turned into an hours-long odyssey through Marshall County involving several law enforcement agencies. It ultimately ended with the suspect committing suicide near Waynesburg Pike in Moundsville.

New Martinsville Police Chief Tim Cecil said his officers had approached a GMC truck it deemed suspicious sitting behind Country Roads Ford in New Martinsville sometime after midnight.

“It was somewhere not many vehicles would park,” he said.

New Martinsville officers approached the car and found suspicious items including binoculars and a wig. They ran a background check and found the driver, 31-year-old Devin Wayne Stevens of Tazewell, Virginia, had four felony warrants out for his arrest. Cecil said they asked Stevens to get out of the car. Stevens refused, Cecil said, and drove off in the dual rear-wheel truck that officers later discovered was a stolen vehicle.

In that escape, Cecil said, an officer nearly was hit by the truck.

Then began the chase that weaved through Marshall County. Cecil said it began in New Martinsville and went north on W.Va. 2 toward Moundsville. Officers had laid road spike strips to stop the truck and Cecil said when Stevens saw the cruisers, he made a U-turn and headed back toward New Martinsville

The chase continued back through New Martinsville until Stevens turned onto W.Va. 7 and headed east toward Hundred. He then turned north on U.S. 250 toward Cameron then went down Waynesburg Pike toward Moundsville. Another set of road spikes stopped the truck there.

Cecil said Stevens then ran from the truck over a hill on Waynesburg Pike with officers in pursuit. Stevens was armed with a handgun, Cecil said, and shot himself on Waynesburg Pike. He was taken to WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

The chase, Cecil said, lasted about four hours and 118 miles. Officers laid down spikes three times Cecil said. Stevens was able to get around them near Blue Racer Midstream in Proctor before being stopped on Waynesburg Pike. The Marshall and Wetzel county sheriff’s offices and Moundsville, Glen Dale, Hundred police departments all assisted in the chase.

“They really showed up for us,” Cecil said. “They came out and stayed right with us.”

When officers investigated Stevens’ truck, Cecil said they found an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle under the driver’s side seat. Cecil added that he had talked with Tazewell police and learned that TPD had chased Stevens there three days ago and Stevens was able to escape.

“This could have been a lot worse than it actually was,” Cecil said.

Chuck Clegg contributed to this report.