By Melanie Asmar, Concord Monitor (Concord, N.H.)
NORTHFIELD, N.H. - Two local men in a stolen car led the police on an early morning chase yesterday through five towns that ended after two and a half hours with their arrest in Northfield.
Driver Ryan Brouillard, 21, of Sanborn Street in Franklin, and passenger Joseph Herne, 18, of Holmes Avenue in Northfield, were being held on cash bail yesterday at the Merrimack County Jail. Brouillard is charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while being a habitual offender, reckless conduct, receiving stolen property, disobeying a police officer and resisting arrest.
Herne is charged with receiving stolen property and resisting detention. The pickup truck Brouillard was driving was reported stolen Tuesday from Daniels Electric Corp. in Gilford, where Herne is an employee.
The high-speed chase started in Epping at around 2:40 a.m., the police said, and continued on Route 4 through Northwood, Chichester and Concord. Cars from at least four police departments were in pursuit. Brouillard, who the police said was drunk, then drove onto Interstate 93 north and got off at Exit 18, continuing into Northfield.
Northfield Officer Michael Hutchinson followed the truck, spotted it in a driveway on Sandogardy Pond Road and pulled in behind it, the police said. Brouillard then backed up out of the driveway, hitting Hutchinson’s cruiser and causing thousands of dollars of damage to the front end, according to Chief Scott Hilliard. Hutchinson was not hurt.
The stolen truck sped off, continuing down the road for a half-mile before driving into the woods, the police said. Brouillard and Herne then abandoned the vehicle and ran.
Two local police officers chased the pair for three miles on foot through the woods, aided by a state police helicopter searchlight and footprints in the snow, Hilliard said. They were caught and arrested around 5 a.m.
Both men were arraigned yesterday in Franklin District Court. Brouillard is being held on $100,000 cash bail because of his extensive criminal record, which includes hitting another Northfield police cruiser with a stolen four-wheeler two years ago, Hilliard said. Herne, who has no criminal record in Northfield, is being held on $15,000 cash bail.
The men are scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 20 in Franklin District Court.