Joshua Elliott, seen in the passenger seat, is being taken away in a police cruiser Thursday after reportedly leading authorities on a car chase that ended with an hourslong armed standoff. Taylor Abbott/Morning Sentinel file
CLINTON — Additional details have come to light as law enforcement agencies continue to investigate a high-speed chase through central Maine that ended Thursday afternoon in an armed, hourslong standoff on East River Road.
Joshua Elliott, 40, of Clinton is now being held at Kennebec County Jail after being transported from the scene of the standoff Thursday to MaineGeneral Hospital to be evaluated.
When the Morning Sentinel sought a mug shot of Elliott from the Kennebec County Correctional Facility, the clerk told the reporter that a photo would not be available because Elliott was being uncooperative and was “refusing to come out of his room.”
Clinton Police Chief Rusty Bell said Friday that his department had been looking for Elliott for a few weeks regarding felony warrants that had been issued for his arrest in Piscataquis County on charges of theft and burglary. He added that Elliott also faces charges in Somerset County. Calls to the Piscataquis County Sheriff were not returned Friday.
Chief Deputy Michael Mitchell of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office said that Elliott faces charges of theft, burglary and violating conditions of release following an incident on Feb. 1, when he allegedly stole tools from a shed in Norridgewock. The stolen property was later recovered.
An officer spotted Elliott operating a dark-colored Toyota Tundra on Thursday and attempted to stop him around 9:30 a.m. on Interstate 95 near mile-marker 138 in Clinton. Elliott took off, leaving the Interstate at Exit 133 and then driving into Clinton.
Bell said that Elliott traveled through back roads at speeds around 60 and 70 mph. At some points, he said, speeds reached up to 90 mph. The posted speed limit in those areas is between 35 and 50 mph.
“The majority of his speeds were in the 60s and he hit 70 a little,” Bell said. “I reviewed the audio and only a couple times did he push speeds up as high as 90 for a relatively short period of time. He would almost stop and then make a turn.”
Bell said that because the pursuit was on back roads and not heading into population centers, the decision was made to continue the chase.
“We’ve been looking for him on and off for a couple of weeks,” Bell said. “He’s been continually avoiding us. We weren’t confident that we would be able to just go pick him up if we let him go, so that’s why we chose to pursue him. The majority of the chase happened in the rural areas, and he took several back roads to try to evade us. At no point was he headed into a population center and that was our justification for continuing to pursue him.”
The truck police say was involved in a high-speed chase Thursday is towed after officers were able to stop the vehicle with a spike mat in Clinton. An hourslong standoff ensued before police eventually arrested Joshua Elliott. Taylor Abbott/Morning Sentinel file
The pursuit continued until around 10 a.m., when officers from Clinton and Fairfield police departments were able to lay down spike mats to successfully stop the vehicle on East River Road. Elliott then barricaded himself in the vehicle. The exact location of where he was stopped was not known, but officials at the roadblock set up on Thursday at the Riverside Baptist Church said that the incident was about 2 miles up the road, near the Skowhegan and Clinton town line.
Lt. Jason Madore of Maine State Police Troop C said Thursday that Elliott “was armed with a handgun and made statements that he wanted to be killed by police.”
Though the road does have residential homes, police said Thursday that the vehicle was not near a home when it came to a stop and there was never a threat to the public.
Elliott peacefully surrendered to police around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday and was transported to MaineGeneral Hospital to be evaluated before being brought to jail.
Bell said Friday that it was still unclear what kind of weapon Elliott possessed. When asked if the weapon was a pellet gun, as identified in a news tip, he did not rule out the possibility but did not confirm. Reporters were told Thursday that Elliott was in possession of a firearm. When asked for details, Madore was not able to comment.
“We haven’t analyzed it yet,” Bell said. “(Maine State Police) Tactical Team looked at it yesterday. It’s unusual, but it does not look like a conventional pellet gun. We don’t have that answer yet and have not gotten to that point of the investigation.”
Bell added that Elliott has not been tied to any property crimes in Clinton. The vehicle that he was operating Thursday did not belong to him and the plates attached were not registered to the vehicle. Bell said that the vehicle was not considered stolen.
Following Thursday’s incident, Elliott faces charges of eluding, criminal speeding, failure to stop, possession of a firearm by a felon, operating after habitual offender status and creating a police standoff.
Also assisting at the scene were the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, Maine Warden Service, and Fairfield, Winslow and Skowhegan police departments.
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