A multi-agency police chase — involving drones, helicopters, K-9 units and an FBI database — concluded Wednesday with a man in custody in East Brookfield facing over 20 charges, including kidnapping.
The search ended with Christopher Martelle hiding under an East Brookfield porch, but it began when police in the Worcester County town responded to Podunk Road for reports of a suspicious vehicle, according to Sgt. Paul Cowden of the East Brookfield Police Department.
Police were unable at the time to identify Martelle, the driver, who ran away after a struggle with the officers.
East Brookfield police began a search for Martelle with assistance from a host of other departments and agencies, including a Massachusetts State Police K-9 unit, a state police helicopter, a police drone, a Spencer police K-9 unit, and officers from the Brookfield, North Brookfield and Sturbridge police departments, Cowden said.
Martelle was eventually located under the porch of a nearby home, officials said. But because he gave officers an alias, police enlisted the help of an FBI fingerprint database to identify him.
Now, Martelle faces a slew of more than 20 charges, including seven from warrants preceding his arrest Wednesday, police said.
Among the charges are kidnapping, home invasion, witness intimidation and possession of Class A substance believed by police to be heroin, Cowden said. The kidnapping charge is from Nov. 12, police said, but further details were not immediately available.
“He didn’t want to comply and he took off, but we ended up getting him,” Cowden said. “This was not a nice guy.”
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