Early morning chase leads to arrest

CHESTERVILLE - A Jay man allegedly lead police on a five-mile chase through Chesterville Saturday morning. Police say he was caught after his pickup truck turned down a dead end road.

David J. Farrington, 19, of Jay was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle without a license, eluding an officer, driving to endanger and illegal attachment of registration plates. He was also issued a summons for failing to stop at a stop sign.

According to Franklin County Sheriff's Department Lt. Niles Yeaton, at 12:45 a.m. Saturday morning, Cpl. Nathan Bean was heading into the Farmington Falls area when he noticed vehicle lights on the George Thomas Road and decided to investigate. As his police vehicle approached the pickup truck, it accelerated past him, failed to stop for the stop sign at the end of the road and crossed Route 41.

Bean turned around and pursued, Yeaton said, across Route 41 and onto Route 156, heading west. The pickup truck sped up, Yeaton said, and failed to stop after Bean activated his vehicle's lights and siren. The chase proceeded onto the Pope Road, then the Dutch Gap Road, then Zion's Hill Road. The pickup truck then reportedly turned onto the Borough Road and then left onto Brunswick Road. That road, Yeaton noted, is a dirt road and dead-ends after a few thousand feet.

Bean followed tracks down Brunswick Road, which eventually becomes a logging road, while Deputy Nathan Reid waited further up to make sure the pickup truck couldn't double back. Eventually, Bean found the truck, with three people inside. Farrington was charged, as police suspect he was the driver of the vehicle. Two other subjects, a male and female, both juveniles, were not charged.

Farrington was arrested and taken to Franklin County Detention Center, where he was later released on $350 cash bail. The juvenile subjects were taken home by the deputies, and Bryan's Automobile towed the pickup truck from the scene.

Farrington has been charged with eluding an officer, for allegedly failing to stop after Bean deployed his siren and lights, and driving to endanger for allegedly ignoring stop signs and accelerating throughout the chase. The illegal attachment of plates charge, Yeaton said, stems from the registration number allegedly coming back to a different vehicle, not registered to Farrington.

In addition to Bean and Reid, Deputy Nicholas Zecher participated in the incident, Yeaton said.