A former Turner man was arrested Thursday after a high-speed chase with police that ended when a trooper forced the man’s car off the road in Augusta.
Police said John J. Gagnon, who lived in Turner in 2012, was being booked Thursday afternoon on a slew of charges as a result of the chase.
Police said trooper Diane Vance attempted to stop Gagnon’s station wagon between Sidney and Route 202 in Manchester early Thursday afternoon, but the driver refused to pull over. The trooper lost sight of the car when the driver veered down a narrow woods road off Route 202 in Manchester, according to Maine Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland.
Other troopers, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Augusta police converged on the area looking for the car, which disappeared for about half an hour. During that time, the license plates on the Subaru station wagon were switched from New Hampshire plates to one from Massachusetts, McCausland said.
The car was later spotted on Puddleduck Road in Manchester, and the chase continued onto Summerhaven Road to Route 27 and back toward Augusta at speeds of over 80 mph. Troopers ended the chase on Leighton Road when a trooper used a “pit maneuver” to force the fleeing car into a spin, McCausland said. The car came to rest wedged between a tree and the guy wire of a utility pole by Allen’s Transfer in Augusta.
McCausland said Gagnon, who claims to be homeless, has a long criminal history in Maine, including several jail terms. He now faces a variety of charges stemming from the pursuit and was taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta.
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