FARMINGTON — A local man is accused of ramming his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle on Sunday, while it was stopped to exit Walmart at the traffic lights, after a verbal confrontation in the parking lot.
Police met with the victim at about 9 p.m. in the lot of an adjacent restaurant.
Based on officers Michael Lyman and Jeffrey Brann’s investigation, Joshua Norton, 39, of Farmington had been at Walmart parking lot and had a verbal confrontation with his ex-girlfriend, according to a Farmington Police Department release.
As the two vehicles were leaving the driveway to the store, Norton pulled up beside the victim, and eventually started ramming his Dodge minivan into the side of her Honda Pilot, police wrote.
Her vehicle’s passenger side door and front fender had dents. Her front bumper was cracked and missing a large section.
After the incident, Norton fled the scene in his minivan, according to police. Officer Brandon Sholan located Norton’s van on Franklin Avenue at about 10:05 p.m.
Sholan followed the vehicle, activated his blue lights and siren and attempted to make a traffic stop. The vehicle continued going about 50 mph back to Walmart on Wilton Road.
Once in the parking lot, Norton tried to ram the ex-girlfriend’s vehicle again, police wrote. Lyman and Brann joined the effort to stop Norton’s vehicle.
The victim drove around the parking lot trying to avoid being hit by Norton’s vehicle, all while the police officers were actively trying to stop him, police wrote.
Norton drove “extremely erratically” throughout the parking lot as he was chasing the victim with his minivan, according to the release.
Officers described following Norton around the parking lot at least three times before Norton was able to get his vehicle into position to ram the victim’s vehicle again. He then lost control and the vehicle crashed into a snowbank. Norton immediately surrendered to police, according to police.
Pedestrians were walking through the parking lot and people near the entrance watching what was going on.
Norton was arrested on felony charges of aggravated reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence stalking, priors, domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, priors, and aggravated criminal mischief. He was also arrested on misdemeanor charges of driving to endanger and eluding an officer.
He was also charged on misdemeanor charges of violation of a protection from abuse order and failure to stop for a police officer.
Norton was being held Monday without bail at the Franklin County Detention Center. He is expected to go before a judge later in the day.
A conviction on the felony charges ranges from 30 years in prison to five years in prison. The misdemeanor charges range from 364 days to six months in jail.
Joshua Norton (Franklin County Detention Center)
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