CHARLOTTE — Tyler Harding was seen putting his hands up as Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers took him into custody following an hours-long chase Wednesday, but he appeared fed up with his first hearing in court on Friday, when a judge increased his bonds to a total of nearly $1 million.
Harding is accused of numerous felonies after driving recklessly through Charlotte and eluding police officers Wednesday. Chopper 9 Skyzoom stayed overhead as he weaved in and out of traffic, stole new getaway vehicles, and then ultimately crashed a stolen SUV into a truck, which ended the chase.
We first reported Harding was being held on bonds originally totaling $115,000 on Thursday, but that amount was increased significantly on Friday. Channel 9 obtained exclusive video of Friday’s hearing after filing a court records request.
>> CMPD released a sequence of events during the high-speed chase through Charlotte Wednesday. Click through the timeline below.
The hearing in the courtroom was nearly as tense as the chase, itself. Harding appeared on camera live from the Mecklenburg County Detention Center as the judge read his charges.
Judge Donald Cureton started to break down the amount of the bonds to Harding, upping the bonds on some of the charges to $250,000 each. The new total: $800,000.
“Oh, f*** this,” Harding said to the judge. He stood up out of his seat and appeared to walk away from the camera frame. He then went back to the seat and told Judge Cureton, “Nah. I’ll let you finish.”
The judge replied: “Hold on. Hold on. One thing you’re not going to do is give me permission to do anything. I already have that.”
Harding also asked the judge an unusual question, saying, “Is it a crime to lie during this or is it a crime to lie during any of this process?”
No one gave the suspect a response, but he was advised that his statements were being recorded and he was told to not say anything else until he spoke with an attorney.
Before the end of the hearing, Harding stood up and made a statement about one incident that happened during the chase.
“Hey, why would you try and pull somebody out of a vehicle that was wrecked?” Harding said. “Why would you try and pull somebody from a vehicle that wrecked? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Harding appeared to be talking about the moment that Chopper 9 Skyzoom caught him hitting a car head-on in south Charlotte. Moments after the crash, he pulled the driver out of the wrecked car. We have since learned that woman is seven months pregnant, but she’s doing OK.
WATCH: Chopper 9 Skyzoom is LIVE over a vehicle driving recklessly through North and South Carolina. New video shows the driver stealing another car in the pursuit that has lasted for about an hour and a half. LIVE UPDATES --> https://t.co/S9Be7Rp4Il pic.twitter.com/NIj2OdKHHY
— WSOCTV (@wsoctv) July 6, 2022
According to court documents obtained by Channel 9, Harding is wanted for eluding police in a vehicle in Bastrop County, Texas. He was still listed in custody in Mecklenburg County on Friday, but he could face extradition to South Carolina to face a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Harding’s next court date is July 11.
See Channel 9′s coverage of the chase with the following stories:
- Suspect in cross-Charlotte chase identified, facing numerous felony charges
- High-speed chase through Charlotte area ends in crash at busy intersection
- Woman who is pregnant recalls moment suspect slammed into car during high-speed chase
- Here’s why CMPD didn’t intervene earlier in Wednesday’s high-speed chase
- ‘I’m going to try to stop him’: Driver rams alleged car thief during chase
(WATCH BELOW: Suspect in cross-Charlotte chase identified, facing numerous felony charges)
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