By Cleve Wiese

Published: May 7, 2008

An intoxicated man led authorities on a two-mile car chase Wednesday morning after shooting an ex-girlfriend in the head at her Waynesboro apartment, police said.
Police responded to Quadrangle Apartments on Fourth Street shortly after receiving a 9:25 a.m. call from the victim, who was covered in blood when authorities arrived, Waynesboro police Sgt. Brian Edwards said.
The 42-year-old victim was conscious and told police her former boyfriend – Sam Wesley Earhart, 42, of Waynesboro – was intoxicated, armed with a gun and had fled in a gold Plymouth Acclaim after attacking her, Edwards said.
An officer spotted the car on North Delphine Avenue near the Faber Street intersection, but Earhart refused to pull over, Edwards said. A brief chase ensued, as the suspect – driving erratically at speeds not exceeding 40 mph – continued north on Route 340 before turning onto Beagle Gap Run, a quiet residential street in a subdivision just outside city limits.
Earhart was eventually corned on Whippoorwill Way, a short cul-de-sac, but refused to comply with orders to show his hands and emerge from the car. Because the suspect was armed, police used a stun gun to apprehend him, Edwards said.
A loaded, recently fired .38-caliber handgun was found on the car’s passenger seat, police said. Earhart told police he had fired one shot in the victim’s living room, Edwards said.
The victim initially told police she had been struck in the back of the head with an unknown object, but doctors at Augusta Medical Center determined the wound was caused by a gunshot, police said. She was later transported the University of Virginia Medical Center in stable condition for further care and evaluation.
Earhart is facing initial felony charges of eluding police, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving after having been declared a habitual offender, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a misdemeanor charge of refusing to take a breath test. He is also facing a felony charge of assaulting police for spitting on an officer, according to police.
Further charges could follow, police said.
Earhart has been convicted of various felonies in Waynesboro including possession of methamphetamine, distributing cocaine, burglary, fraud and assault, according to court records. He has also been convicted in Augusta County of assault and battery.