Newtown Resident Kidnapped At Gunpoint; Suspect Crashes During Getaway

NEWTOWN, CT — A 33-year-old Danbury man was apprehended by authorities Thursday, after police said he kidnapped a Newtown resident at gunpoint, and tried to flee in a stolen vehicle before crashing it on Interstate 84 near Exit 15.

Christopher Lemke is facing a host of charges in connection with the incident, and is being held in lieu of bail of $1 million.

According to Newtown police, the victim was able to get away from Lemke before the arrest, and that person was not physically harmed.

The incident began in the Hawleyville area of Newtown when members of the Danbury Police Department and Western Connecticut Regional SWAT team were preparing to raid a home, Newtown police said.

As authorities were about to enter just before 11 a.m., Lemke, who was inside the home, ran away through the woods nearby.

He came out of the woods in a neighborhood, where he entered an unlocked home and kidnapped a person at gunpoint, and fled in a stolen BMW sedan.

"The victim was able to escape a very short distance away and was not physically injured," Newtown police wrote in a statement on Facebook. "Officers were able to get the suspect and vehicle information out quickly and the vehicle was located traveling east on I-84 near the Rochambeau Bridge by Connecticut State Police."

State police said troopers chased the vehicle to Exit 15 in Southbury, where Lemke drove down the ramp and crashed on Main Street North (Route 67).

Lemke was taken into custody, and state police charged him with the following:

• Illegal Possession of a Weapon in a Motor Vehicle
• Possession of a Stolen Firearm
• Criminal Possession of a Pistol
• Engaging Police in Pursuit
• Reckless Driving
• Reckless Endangerment
• Possession of Narcotics with Intent to Sell
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

He is also facing charges from Newtown police, but those were not immediately available.