A 39-year-old man wanted by Massachusetts authorities for arson was arrested in Connecticut on Sunday following a high-speed chase involving an allegedly stolen car.
Mark Alicea, of Fitchburg, was detained when officers discovered a stolen car and attempted to stop it, according to an Enfield Police Department press release.
Alicea has been wanted for arson since June in connection with a fire on February 18 in Fitchburg, which displaced seven individuals and injured one, according to the Telegram and Gazette.
After being halted by cops on Sunday, Alicea allegedly fled in the stolen vehicle. According to police, officers called off the chase in accordance with state regulation.
“Even without officers in pursuit of the vehicle, it was observed traveling in excess of 100 mph and in an extremely reckless manner,” EPD said in a social media statement.
Officers eventually used a tire deflation device to stop the vehicle, after which Alicea fled on foot, according to authorities.
“K-9 Odin was deployed, tracking the suspect through dense vegetation and swamplands, across a pond, and eventually apprehended the suspect,” EPD reported.
Alicea was charged with auto theft, criminal mischief in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, interfering with a police investigation, engaging police in a pursuit, reckless driving, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.
He was detained on a $200,000 cash bond.
When it was revealed that Alicea had an extraditable arrest warrant from Worcester County for arson, he was booked as a fugitive from justice and held on an additional $800,000 cash bond, according to authorities.
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