Teen faces felony charges after 12-mile chase

BREWER – A 19-year-old man faces at least seven felony charges after authorities said he threatened to kill a man then led police on a 12-mile chase late Thursday night that ended when his truck crashed into a police cruiser.

Justin Ridley was out on bail Friday after his appearance in 3rd District Court in Bangor, where he was charged with two counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, two counts of aggravated criminal mischief, and single counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, eluding a police officer and passing a roadblock. Other charges could be filed, authorities said.

Ridley has no criminal record, according to Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County.

“These are a substantial number of Class C charges,” said Roberts late Friday afternoon. “He could easily have been involved in more substantial felonies. He’s lucky there were no serious injuries and lucky that he didn’t hurt himself.”

But police said he intended to shoot one man, and put other people in harm’s way.

The incident began in Brewer at the Town and Country trailer park on the Day Road, where police said Ridley became enraged about his girlfriend seeing someone else while they had been separated briefly.

Police said Ridley grabbed a 20-gauge shotgun and coerced his girlfriend into his truck, and they drove to her Bangor home where he had her call her acquaintance and try to convince him to come over. The woman told Brewer police Officer Anthony Pinette that she feared for her life and that Ridley intended to shoot the man when he came over.

She couldn’t reach the man, so Ridley left a message for him telling the man to meet him back at his trailer home in Brewer where he would kill him, Brewer Cpl. Keith Emery said.

Ridley returned to his home about 10:45 p.m. where he smashed the windows out of his girlfriend’s car. When the girlfriend returned in a friend’s vehicle, Ridley blocked them in and rammed the vehicle with his pickup, pushing it down the Day Road and into a yard where it struck a tree and spun around, according to police. Ridley then twice rammed the passenger side of the car, where his girlfriend was seated.

He drove off before police arrived, although Ridley’s pickup truck was located by Trooper Darren Vittum near the intersection of Route 9 and Clewleyville Road where the trooper said Ridley ran a stop sign.

Seeing the cruiser’s lights, Ridley sped up, Vittum said. Ridley drove down Route 9 and then onto Route 178, where the truck was veering all over the road and passing other motorists, Vittum said.

Along the way, Ridley exceeded the speed limit by 50 mph in some instances and didn’t stop at stop signs or red lights, Vittum said.

Near the Milford and Bradley town line on Route 2, Old Town police set up spike mats. Both front tires deflated, slowing Ridley to about 40 to 50 mph, but he continued with sparks flying as the rims grated against the road, reported Old Town police Sgt. Travis Roy.

With a growing train of police cruisers behind them, Troopers Vittum and David Millett set up a roadblock about five miles ahead, near Bergeron’s Small Engine Repair. Ridley crashed into Vittum’s cruiser, doing an estimated $3,000 to the police car.

Roy said that five shotgun shells were found in Ridley’s left front pants pocket while Brewer police recovered the shotgun from Ridley’s home in Brewer.