HOULTON – A Houlton man faces multiple charges after he led local police on a foot chase for almost 20 minutes on Wednesday morning.

Ken Hardy, 21, has been charged with trespassing, refusing to submit to arrest and five counts of burglary of a motor vehicle. He also has been charged with two counts of failure to pay fines in Kennebec County.

Wednesday’s incident began at about 10:15 a.m. while Cpl. Thomas Donahue of the Houlton Police Department was investigating a motor vehicle burglary in the Grove Street area. At that time, he spotted Hardy.

Donahue was aware that there were active warrants for Hardy’s arrest.

When Donahue ordered Hardy to stop, Hardy fled down the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad road into the B&A yard, with Donahue following in his cruiser. Hardy ran across the railroad trestle over the Meduxnekeag River and Donahue continued his pursuit on foot.

Hardy left the trestle and went down an embankment onto Mill Street and crossed Smyrna Street to Salem Street. He ran up Salem Street to West Street, down West Street to Bowdoin Street and then to North Street. He crossed North Street to Washburn Street, where Officer Matthew Quint of the Houlton Police Department apprehended him.

According to Staff Sgt. Daniel Pelletier, who also participated in the pursuit, throughout the chase, Hardy ran through residential dooryards, back yards, behind houses and businesses and across a small field in his efforts to escape police.

The sergeant said police briefly lost sight of Hardy near Brake Service on North Street when he crossed the busy four-lane road that forms part of Route 1.

Quint spotted him hiding in the back yard of a house on the corner of North and Washburn streets. The officer ordered Hardy to come out, but Hardy fled again. Quint pursued him over a snowbank and subdued him on Washburn Street.

Detective David Socoby of the Maine State Police assisted local police in the pursuit.

When Quint chased Hardy over the snowbank, he was kicked in the forehead by Hardy’s shoe. The officer required three stitches to close the wound, Pelletier said.

Hardy was taken to the Aroostook County Jail, where he is being held on a combined total of $1,300 bail. He will make his initial court appearance today in 2nd District Court in Houlton.