VASSALBORO — After fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle crash, a Warren man was arrested last week after he was tracked one mile by a Maine State Police trooper and his canine.

Trooper John Lacoste said Monday that Troy Woodman, 36, was reportedly behind the wheel of a vehicle that crossed the center line on North Belfast Avenue and collided head-on with another car. Lacoste said witnesses saw Woodman pacing back and forth before leaving the scene of the Thursday crash on foot.

Lacoste said Woodman had probation and bail conditions, which apparently prompted him to try and escape.

“He walked to the next residence, (and) he escaped behind the house,” Lacoste said. “I tracked him up to the Mudget Hill Road, and he was behind a tree on the phone.”

Lacoste said his K9 Bella, who he has been partnered with for three years, followed Woodman’s trail that wound almost a mile through the woods. She barked when she saw Woodman, allowing for him to be taken into custody without incident.

“He saw my dog and didn’t want any part of that,” Lacoste said.

Woodman was arrested on a probation hold and charged with failure to stop for an officer, operating a motor vehicle while his license was revoked elevated by his status as a habitual offender and violating conditions of his release.

Lacoste said both cars sustained minor damage. Two passengers in Woodman’s vehicle were not injured, while the driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Woodman complained of neck and head pain but was cleared by first responders before he was taken to Kennebec County jail in Augusta, where he was still being held on Monday.

Woodman was arrested in 2016 for his part in a $9,000 lobster heist in Harpswell.

 

Sam Shepherd — 621-5666
sshepherd@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @SamShepME

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