More details have come out about a chase involving Maine State troopers and a Norridgewock man who police say was driving a pickup that had been reported stolen in Norridgewock on Tuesday night. The state police pursuit began in Belgrade and ended in Mercer on Wednesday morning.

Lawrence R. Knowles

On Thursday, spokesperson Katy England said that Lawrence R. Knowles, 54, of Norridgewock was arrested in Mercer.

Maine State Police spotted the pickup on State Route 8 in Belgrade around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday. A trooper tried to stop the vehicle and identify himself, but the driver took off, England said.

The chase lasted for about 20 minutes. Spike mats were deployed at the intersection of Rome Road and U.S. Route 2 in Mercer and the vehicle was stopped at 11 a.m. England said that the chase was not considered high speed and did not provide additional information, including the distance covered in the chase.

Knowles faces charges from multiple agencies, including eluding an officer, a felony charge; passing a police roadblock; failure to stop for an officer; two counts of violations of conditions of release; and theft by unauthorized taking, according to Michael Mitchell, chief deputy at Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

At the time of his arrest Wednesday, Knowles was out on bail following charges from a Dec. 22 incident, where police say he led officers on a 2.1 mile chase through Madison. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle Dec. 22, Knowles took off and also tried to disable the police vehicle. Following this incident, Knowles was charged with refusing to stop for a law enforcement officer, eluding an officer and attaching false plates.

On Wednesday, Mitchell said that incidents allegedly involving Knowles began Tuesday evening when the agency was alerted about a stolen vehicle just before 11 p.m. The vehicle, a 2005 white Dodge 2500 pickup, was sitting in a driveway on Wilder Hill Road with the keys in the cab of the vehicle. Around the same time, a vehicle that had been reported stolen in Bangor had been found in the vicinity.

On Wednesday morning around 7:45 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office received a report that Knowles had been seen operating a white pickup truck on Main Street in Norridgewock near Ainslie’s II, heading toward Fairfield. Law enforcement agencies had been alerted about the stolen vehicle the previous evening and were alerted again that the vehicle had been spotted in Norridgewock and to be on the lookout.

Investigation of the incident in Somerset County continued Thursday, Mitchell said, including the theft of the vehicle from Bangor and thefts that happened in Somerset County on Wednesday.

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