SKOWHEGAN — A local man who led police on a lengthy chase through downtown Skowhegan in November will serve his time behind bars in that case concurrently with a longer prison term he began in July for the robbery of a Madison convenience store.

Raymond Ellis Somerset County Sheriff’s Office photo

Raymond Ellis, 35, of Skowhegan entered a plea agreement at a Skowhegan courtroom Friday that effectively resulted in a sentence of eight years in prison, according to the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office and court records.

As a result of the Nov. 8, 2023, police chase, Ellis was ultimately charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, one count of eluding an officer, one count of assault on an officer, one count of driving to endanger, two counts of refusing to submit to arrest and one count of unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs, court records show.

The first, most severe count — Class A aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs — led to the eight-year sentence, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said. Prison time for the other counts was ordered to be served concurrently with the first count.

Ellis is set to serve the entire sentence for those convictions concurrently with his sentence for the Aug. 5, 2023, robbery of the Madison Big Apple store on Old Point Avenue, according to the district attorney’s office.

In that case, a judge sentenced Ellis in July to 25 years in prison, with all but 20 years suspended, and four years of probation. A jury found him guilty of Class A robbery and two lesser charges after a two-day trial in June.

The November chase began when Detective David Cole of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office stopped Ellis at Laney’s Pit Stop at 90 Waterville Road in Skowhegan, police said at the time. Cole attempted to execute a search warrant for drugs as part of an investigation into suspected drug sales in the area.

Ellis did not cooperate, and after a “brief physical struggle,” he fled the gas station and store in his pickup truck, leading sheriff’s deputies and police officers through Skowhegan, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

After the chase, officers arrested Ellis in the parking lot at the Spinning Mill redevelopment project on the island in Skowhegan.

During the chase, which one witness said lasted 15 to 20 minutes, Ellis hit two new Somerset County Sheriff’s Office cruisers, a Skowhegan Police Department cruiser and three other vehicles, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Skowhegan police said a pedestrian was hit, but not seriously injured.

The Sheriff’s Office said then that investigators found a loaded shotgun, ammunition, fentanyl, crack cocaine, Suboxone strips, digital scales and other drug-related items on Ellis and inside his vehicle.

Ellis was prohibited from possessing firearms at the time due to a felony conviction.

During Ellis’ trial in the Madison robbery case, Cole, the detective, testified a gun found in Ellis’ pickup truck following the chase helped link him to the robbery. The chase itself was not mentioned during the trial.

In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court in the robbery case, First Assistant District Attorney Timothy Snyder wrote that Ellis has a “commitment to a criminal lifestyle.”

Ellis’ previous criminal convictions include seven felonies and a federal firearms conviction for which he served 10 years, Snyder wrote.

Ellis was incarcerated as of Wednesday at the Maine State Prison in Warren, according to Maine Department of Corrections online records.