Suspect with stolen trailer leads police on foot pursuit

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(c) MHNN

POUGHKEEPSIE – A man believed to have stolen an equipment trailer from a secured parking lot was spotted by police shortly after the theft on Monday.  The suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.  City police and a Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office K9 were searching the neighborhood for the suspect.

 

(c) MHNN

The gated lot at Mental Health America on Mansion Street was opened at approximately 6:45 a.m. on Monday.  Moments later, a man operating an older van entered the lot and hooked up to a dump trailer owned by a contractor doing work for MHA.  The suspect then drove out of the lot, with the trailer in tow.

 

MHA notified City 911 of the theft and officers responded to the lot to take a report.  As the police were interviewing the MHA representative and the trailer’s legal owner, the van with the trailer drove past the lot.  Police chased and attempted to stop the van.  The subject abandoned the van at the intersection of North Clinton and Mansion Street and fled on foot.

Multiple city police units converged on the neighborhood, with police at intersections including Cottage and North Hamilton Streets, North Clinton and Cottage Streets, and a few other locations.

Officers began a foot search of the area, looking for a subject described as a man wearing a green sweatshirt and white shorts.  The original search was unsuccessful.  A sheriff’s K9 unit arrived at the van’s location and the dog and his handler began tracking the suspect.

 

The trailer, according to the owner, had been loaded with construction debris from the MHA project he has been working on.  When police recovered it, the debris was gone.  In place of the debris, a Crime Scene Technician found several rolls of electrical wire.  Officers believe the suspect stole the trailer, dumped the debris at an unknown location, and then proceeded to steal the electrical supplies, before being spotted by police.

 

The license plate on the white and yellow van was determined to have been stolen from another vehicle and placed on the van.

 

The investigation is ongoing and police are asking for anyone with information on the incident to contact the TIPS Line at 845-451-7577.




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