Pittcaught.jpg

Youth pastor Matt Pitt was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 by Birmingham police and Jefferson County sheriff's deputies.

((Photo special to AL.com))

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Embattled youth pastor Matt Pitt was arrested in Birmingham tonight after he ran from law enforcement and then struggled with them before he was handcuffed and arrested.

Pitt, the 30-year-old evangelist wanted on felony charges of impersonating a peace officer, was captured on 20th Street near Vulcan. Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian said deputies got a tip that Pitt, founder of one of the country's largest youth ministries, was on his way to a local television studio.

Sheriff's authorities notified Birmingham police officers who were the first to arrive. Christian said Pitt ran from the Vulcan area, with Birmingham officers in pursuit, to 20th Street close to the overlook.

Pitt struggled with the Birmingham officers and sheriff's deputies before he was subdued. Christian said Pitt is en route to the Jefferson County Jail.

Youth pastor Matt Pitt's mug shot, taken in Jefferson County on August 20, 2013

Christian thanked Birmingham police for their help in capturing the wanted pastor. "Obviously they were just as offended by this suspect pretending to be a police officer as everyone else was,'' Christian said.

When a deputy took custody of Pitt tonight and asked him where he worked, Pitt answered that he worked for the sheriff. "His story just continues to get stranger by the moment,'' Christian said. "You can draw your own conclusions as to why."

Pitt was released from the Jefferson County Jail just before 1 a.m. He was then picked up by Shelby County sheriff's deputies where he is being held without bond.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies on Friday announced a felony warrant against Pitt on the charge of impersonating a peace officer. They said on June 15 they were called to Falling Creek Lane to investigate a report of a man impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Deputies were told there was a suspicious vehicle sitting in front of a home two hours earlier and the resident had seen people going back and forth between the vehicle and a nearby wooded area.

The caller said he went to investigate and discovered a rifle hidden at the edge of the woods. He summoned law enforcement. While he was waiting for them to respond, two men drove up on ATV's. When the man asked them what they were doing, Pitt retrieved the rifle and identified himself as a law enforcement officer, according to deputies.

The responding deputy forwarded the case to the sheriff's office Criminal Division for Investigation. The warrant was issued Aug. 14 and announced on Friday. Pitt's bond in that case is set at $15,000.

Pitt was out of town when the warrant issued and was to surrender. "The fact that he tried to run is a pretty good indication that he had no intention of turning himself in and answering for what he has done,'' Christian said.

In his 2012 arrest, Pitt was charged with a felony after Calera police said he was flashing blue lights to pull over cars on Interstate 65. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

After Jefferson County issued the new warrant against Pitt, a writ of arrest was issued by Shelby County authorities for probation revocation. The Shelby County District Attorney's Office filed the motion on Aug. 14, the same day Jefferson County sheriff's deputies obtained the felony warrant against Pitt.

In the newest Shelby County motion, prosecutors noted that Pitt pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2012 to attempting to impersonate a peace officer. He received a suspended 12-month sentence and was placed on unsupervised probation for two years.

Youth pastor Matt Pitt's mugshot taken in Shelby County on August 21, 2013.

As a condition of probation, Pitt was to obey all laws, according to the motion. New allegations against him by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the report said, make him in direct violation of the conditions of probation.

Pitt started The Basement in the basement of his home in 2004 and it grew into one of the largest youth ministries in the country.

"In the end,'' Christian said tonight, "it seems we just have another evangelist to add to the list of those that aren't what they seemed to be or what we wished they were."

Updated at 7 a.m. to show he is now in the Shelby County Jail.