Driver in car chase to serve 14 years

A 25-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man who led officers on a destructive high-speed chase in January 2008 that ended in downtown Lawrence was sentenced on Wednesday to serve 14 years in federal prison.

Edward Wise had pleaded guilty in December 2008 to one count of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Wise admitted to stealing a North Lawrence woman’s van on Jan. 30, 2008. After officers chased him from Leavenworth County back to Lawrence, he carjacked a sport utility vehicle from another Lawrence woman near 19th and Massachusetts streets.

Wise crashed the vehicle downtown and tried to use a gun to steal another vehicle before a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper incapacitated him with a Taser.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil ordered Wise to serve two sentences consecutively for a total of 171 months in prison, according to court records. He must also pay $13,556 in restitution.