A man and woman are in jail and another man is sought after sheriff's deputies say the three broke into a Lawrence County home, assaulted the occupants — who walked in on the suspects — and then led deputies and police on a two-state chase.

A gun, reported stolen from the home, is also missing, which was allegedly thrown from the moving car.

About 1:38 p.m. Thursday, the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office received a call about a burglary in progress in Chesapeake.

Deputy Perry Adkins responded to the residence in question, where he said he spotted a white Chevrolet van, described by the caller, and signaled for it to stop. According to Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless, the driver refused to stop and a pursuit ensued. The deputy following the suspect from Ohio 243 at Bradrick, north on Ohio 7, and crossed the 31st Street bridge into Huntington, W.Va.

Adkins continued his pursuit through several streets in Huntington, until the van came to a stop near the river bank floodwall near 20th Street, Lawless said. Three suspects inside the van fled on foot, according to the sheriff. Adkins apprehended one suspect, identified as Elmer M. Mills, 36, on the river bank after a short chase. The Huntington Police Department searched for the two remaining suspects and found Teddy Mulkey, 31, near a barge. He was arrested, Lawless said, but the third suspect remains at large.

According to the sheriff's office report, John G. Carter and Amanda S. Carter Chesapeake had been running errands and returned home, where they reportedly found the white van in their driveway and noticed the front door ajar. Upon entering the residence, they told deputies they found three people inside going through their belongings. Amanda Carter said she ran next door to use the phone to call the Sheriff's Office. John Carter confronted the suspects, he said, and was assaulted by at least two of them. After a brief scuffle, the suspects fled in the van, the alleged victims reported.

Lawless said Mills and Mulkey will be held as fugitives from justice for the pending charges in Lawrence County, which include aggravated burglary, felonious assault and fleeing and eluding an officer.

During the Sheriff's Office investigation, deputies reported at least two firearms were removed from the residence, and Lawless said Mills and Mulkey told detectives they removed a small-caliber grey handgun and a small black assault rifle, and during the chase, threw them out the passenger side window in Ohio. Deputies and a K-9 officer spent the morning searching the area of the pursuit. At 1:59 p.m. Friday, the sheriff's office reported the assault rifle had been located, but the handgun still had not.

"Anyone who happens upon these weapons is urged not to touch them and to call the Sheriff's Office immediately," Lawless said Friday before either weapon had been found. "I do not want anyone to be injured, especially because of someone else's criminal activity."

FRANK LEWIS may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.