Troopers Say a Waterford Man Fled at 150-Plus MPH, Then Claimed His Burned-Out Corvette Was Stolen. Now He’s Charged With Lying

The man New York State Police say drove a Corvette away from troopers at more than 150 mph last week told them in writing that someone had stolen it. Troopers have now charged him with lying on that form.

Logan J. Powers, 28, of Waterford, was arrested Oct. 14, according to a State Police release dated Oct. 15. He is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and making a punishable false written statement, plus what the release calls numerous Vehicle and Traffic Law violations. Every count it names is a misdemeanor. Powers is presumed innocent, and none of the allegations has been tested in court.

The pursuit started around 10:20 p.m. on Oct. 12, when troopers tried to stop a blue Chevrolet Corvette southbound on Route 9 in Clifton Park. The driver kept going and got onto Interstate 87 south, where troopers put down a tire deflation device and then lost sight of the car. Around 11 p.m. it turned up empty and on fire near Southbury Road and Montgomery Way. When we first reported the chase, no driver had been named.

What troopers say happened next

Troopers identified Powers as the registered owner and found him at his home, uninjured. In a written statement, according to State Police, he said he was not involved in the pursuit and that an unknown person had stolen the Corvette in Waterford. Investigators say he was the one driving, and that a family member picked him up after he abandoned the car.

The release does not say how troopers established that. It cites no video, phone records, witness or physical evidence. It does not say when Powers gave the statement, where in Waterford the car was supposedly taken from, or whether a theft claim ever went to an insurer, and no insurance fraud count appears. The family member is not named, and no one else is listed as charged.

The speed on paper

The figure that carried this story, 154 mph, is not in the release. State Police wrote only that the Corvette was allegedly traveling over 150 mph. The exact number came from State Police comments reported by WNYT and other Albany stations. The release gives no model year either, so the car pictured below is representative.

Why the stolen-car story is its own charge

Penal Law § 210.45 does not reach every lie told to police. It applies to a knowingly false statement made in a written instrument “bearing a legally authorized form notice” that false statements in it are punishable. That is the warning printed on supporting depositions and similar police forms. The charge means troopers believe Powers put his account on paper carrying that notice. The release does not describe the document.

The obstruction count covers intentionally obstructing “the administration of law” by interference or another independently unlawful act. With the false-statement charge, that puts two of the four named crimes on what allegedly happened after the Corvette stopped, not on how it was driven.

All four are class A misdemeanors, each capped at 364 days in jail. Second-degree reckless endangerment requires conduct creating “a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.” The felony versions of that charge and of fleeing, which we laid out after the chase, are not charged. No one was reported hurt.

A ticket, not a cell

Powers was processed at the State Police barracks in Clifton Park, given an appearance ticket and released. For misdemeanors that is the default: Criminal Procedure Law § 150.20 requires officers to issue a ticket instead of holding someone, unless an exception applies. One exception covers charges for which a court may suspend or revoke a driver’s license. Whether any of Powers’ traffic counts falls in that group cannot be told from the release, because it does not list them.

Last month, Tempe police booked the driver of a 140 mph Corvette on a felony. The New York case, 14 mph faster by the stations’ figure, has none.

The fire is still under investigation, with the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Management Fire Investigation Unit assisting. State Police have not said whether it started on its own or was set, and no charge relates to it. Powers is due in Clifton Park Town Court on Nov. 11.

If the State Police account holds up, the lie on paper is charged at the same misdemeanor level as the 150 mph run. Should a fake stolen-car report after a chase be a felony in New York?

Sources: New York State Police release, Oct. 15, 2026; WNYT; New York Penal Law §§ 70.15, 120.20, 195.05, 210.45 and 270.25; Criminal Procedure Law § 150.20.

Lead image: Jason Lawrence / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

About the Author

Shawn Henry

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Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

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