5 town car chase ends in arrest

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

HADLEY — A Missouri man was arrested after he led police on a high-speed chase through five towns Thursday night while behind the wheel of a red Cadillac.

Joshua Edward Frascello, 24, of Buffalo, Mo., pleaded innocent Friday in Eastern Hampshire District Court to charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, disorderly conduct, two counts of failure to stop for police and being a fugitive from justice on a court warrant.

At 8:50 p.m., Hadley police officer Adam Bartlett stopped Frascello’s vehicle near the intersection of Route 9 and South Maple Street because it went through a red light, police said.

Bartlett had had a previous encounter with Frascello, and suspected that he was giving a false name. Bartlett had checked some information on the computer in his cruiser, and was returning to the vehicle when it reportedly took off.

The vehicle headed north on North Maple Street, to Rocky Hill Road and Route 116, police said. It was exceeding 100 miles per hour and crossing double yellow lines, causing oncoming motorists to have to swerve off the road to avoid collisions, police said.

Frascello reached the intersection of Routes 116 in 47 in Sunderland, where police deployed “stop sticks,” which are designed to slowly deflate tires, police said. But the vehicle proceeded over the Sunderland Bridge into South Deerfield and entered Whately, where the state police deployed more “stop sticks.” At this point the vehicle crashed into a guardrail and Frascello fled on foot into a swampy area near the river, where he was apprehended a short time later, police said. Members of the Hadley, Sunderland, Whately and state police departments assisted in making the arrest.

There were several warrants out for Frascello’s arrest, both locally and outside the Pioneer Valley. Frascello also pleaded innocent Friday to charges of larceny from a person, receiving stolen property valued above $250 and using a motor vehicle without authority.

Judge Richard J. Carey set Frascello’s bail at $10,000 cash or $100,000 surety, and he is scheduled to reappear for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 15.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com