13-year-old China boy arrested after alleged theft, chase and altercation Saturday

AUGUSTA — A 13-year-old China boy was arrested early Saturday on multiple charges — includng driving without a license and eluding an officer — after two encounters with a sheriff’s deputy within a short time.

According to a news release sent Sunday by Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Dan Davies, a deputy doing a check on businesses saw a van with two occupants about 2:30 a.m. Saturday at the rear of Nichol’s Self-Storage facility on Route 3 in China.

The vehicle sped away after Deputy Nathan McNally shined a spotlight on it, Davies said, and McNally gave chase using emergency lights and siren.

“Storage facilities throughout Kennebec County have increasingly become victimized by thieves as they are often easily accessible and more times than not lacking sufficient security measures,” Davies said in the release.

The vehicles headed east on Route 3 to Augusta until the fleeing suspects stopped after seeing a spike mat that Augusta police had placed on the road.

Davies said the two occupants — the 13-year-old and his 14-year-old stepbrother — were taken into custody.

“The purple 1995 Ford Windstar they were driving belonged to their mother’s boyfriend, Gary Sawtelle,” according to Davies. “The 13-year-old was also found to be on probation for a previous and unrelated burglary.”

Davies said both boys were released to the custody of their mother at the direction of a juvenile probation officer.

Shortly afterward, Davies said, McNally heard yelling as he passed On-The-Go-Mobil in Augusta.

When he investigated, he found the same boys and adults.

Sawtelle told McNally that the 13-year-old had assaulted him during the dispute, so the boy was rearrested and detained for later transfer to a juvenile detention center, Davies said.

The boy faces a felony charge of violation of probation, as well as misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle without a license and theft by unauthorized use of property.

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