By Owen Boss
Staff Writer
AMHERST - An Amherst man, who police say was having relationship trouble with his girlfriend, attempted to hang himself late Saturday night before leading police on a high-speed car chase through three area towns.
Michael John Lusardo, 22, of 640 Main St., Unit 1, pleaded innocent Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court to charges of reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police.
According to Amherst Police Lt. Ron Young, head of the detective bureau, at 10:55 p.m., police responded to Lusardo's home after he reportedly got into a verbal altercation with his girlfriend over the ownership of their dog.
Not long afterward, at 11:44 p.m., Young said police returned to the home after Lusardo's girlfriend called police expressing concern about his well-being after he reportedly attempted to hang himself, according to court documents.
Lusardo left in his car before police got there, prompting Amherst police to issue an alert for his vehicle, Young said.
"We were just trying to continue the domestic investigation," Young said.
Then, at 3:18 a.m., while on routine patrol, Amherst police officer Nicholas Chandler reportedly observed Lusardo's vehicle on Main Street and began following him.
When he realized he was being followed, Lusardo sped away at speeds in excess of 75 mph and traveled through Pelham to Route 202, where he turned and headed toward Belchertown, with Belchertown police cruisers joining the pursuit. Lusardo then headed back into Amherst, where he finally came to a stop in front of his home and was taken into custody. Amherst and Belchertown police used stop sticks to puncture the tires on his vehicle and Lusardo drove for much of the chase on bare rims, according to court documents.
Judge Mark Mason released Lusardo on his own recognizance and scheduled him to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on June 22.
Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com
No comments:
Post a Comment