Driver Charged After Wild Police Pursuit In Vernon

VERNON, CT — A Vernon man is facing charges levied by both local and state police in connection with a wild pursuit through town, reports indicate.

Luis Nieves, 26, was charged on Thursday for the Tuesday incident.

At 11:04 p.m. Tuesday, a state trooper observed a Volkswagen Jetta speeding on Grove Street in Vernon. The trooper made a U-turn and tried to pull over the car, driven by Nieves, according to a warrant.

The Jetta ran a red light and turned left into the Shell station at the corner of Routes 30 and 31 and then sped through the parking lot, across Route 30 and onto East Street, according to a warrant.

A short time after the trooper gave up the chase, a Vernon officer spotted the Jetta on West Road and Nieves sped into Ellington, according to a warrant.

The trooper went to the registered owner's address in Vernon and was met with the response,"Again? What happened now?" while adding Nieves uses the car as an employee of his business.

The car was eventually tracked down in Vernon and Nieves was arrested, police said.

Nieves was wanted by Vernon police for skipping court dates on larceny and burglary charges. He was charged by Vernon police with driving without a license, failure to obey a stop sign, improper turns and engaging police in a pursuit.

State police charged him with disobeying traffic signals, failure to obey a stop sign, engaging police in a pursuit, driving without a license, reckless driving and second-degree reckless endangerment.