NEWPORT — Two Somerset County men, including one who has been out of prison for only two weeks, were arrested Thursday after a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 95, police said.
The sequence of events leading to the arrests of David McGregor, 24, of Canaan and Christopher Caldwell, 25, of Pittsfield began at 5 a.m., when troopers responded to a broken-down vehicle on the interstate in Alton, according to Maine State Police Lt. Sean Hashey.
A witness reportedly saw two men walking away from the vehicle, a silver Chevrolet van, but they were gone by the time police arrived, Hashey said. The vehicle apparently had been stolen from Howland, Hashey added.
As police searched for the two suspects, officers got word a 2002 Saab had been reported stolen just before 8 a.m., Hashey said, and at 3 p.m., troopers were notified about a reckless driver on I-95 in the Hampden area.
Trooper Barry Meserve spotted the Saab near the Coldbrook Road exit, Hashey said, and the driver reportedly fled upon spotting Meserve’s cruiser. The vehicle was identified as the one stolen out of Howland.
Hashey didn’t specify how fast the vehicle was traveling but did point out it was traveling at a high rate of speed.
Police pursued the men toward Newport, where several roadblocks were being set up. The suspects left the highway at the Ridge Road exit in Plymouth, and Meserve was able to terminate the chase using the precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, Hashey explained.
Both men were arrested without further incident and were taken to Penobscot County Jail.
Hashey said McGregor, whose license is suspended, is on probation for an armed home invasion out of Somerset County and had just been released from prison two weeks before the chase. He was charged with eluding a police officer, driving to endanger and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Caldwell was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Both men could face further charges after the District Attorney’s office reviews the case.
Several agencies, including the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and Newport police, assisted state police.
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