Police arrest Bangor man after high-speed chase Veazie officers nab 2 others in separate incident

VEAZIE – A Bangor man was arrested Thursday night for leading Veazie police on a high-speed chase, and two other Bangor men were arrested in Orono hours later for allegedly stealing a car from Veazie.

As a result of the chase, Michael Yeager, 21, was charged with attempting to elude a police officer, drunken driving, driving to endanger, possession of drug paraphernalia, six counts of refusing to sign a summons, operating a motor vehicle without headlights on, failure to produce insurance, and failure to wear a seat belt.

In the other incident, David O’Clair, who turned 22 when he was arrested Friday morning, was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, drunken driving, and operating a motor vehicle after suspension of his license. Derek O’Clair, 21, also was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Derek O’Clair also had been a passenger in the Yeager vehicle during the chase.

Veazie police Cpl. Andrew Whitehouse and Officer Lee Miller had stopped at Veazie Variety on Route 2 just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday to get gas for their police cruiser when they heard a vehicle accelerating at a high rate of speed in reverse in the store’s parking lot, Whitehouse said.

While waving his arms, Whitehouse ordered the vehicle to stop several times, but the four-door Ford sedan sped away without braking. Before the car left, the officers noticed the driver was wearing a yellow jacket, had a goatee and that there was a second male in the car.

A chase ensued with speeds reaching about 70 mph in a 40-mph zone before the Ford was driven behind the Riverview Motel in Bangor.

When police caught up to the car, the driver, later identified as Yeager, initially refused orders to stop, walking away from the gold 1988 Ford Tempo, but came to a halt when Whitehouse held him at gunpoint.

Yeager denied he’d had anyone with him, but Whitehouse spotted Derek O’Clair walking out from behind some nearby bushes.

After several warnings to stop. O’Clair obeyed but then refused orders to lie on the ground. He was “assisted” down and handcuffed by Whitehouse and Sgt. Keith Mercier of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

Yeager was arrested and O’Clair was released. Tests later found Yeager’s blood-alcohol level to be 0.21 percent, nearly three times Maine’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

A clerk at Veazie Variety told police the pair had not caused any problems.

At about 1:30 a.m., Veazie police received a report that a green 1995 Dodge Neon had been stolen from the Flagg Street home of Sarah Brown, Miller said.

The woman told police that Derek “DJ” O’Clair had stopped at her home with another male at about 9:30 p.m. to visit her son, but left when they found he wasn’t home.

Orono police Officer Scott Wilcox noticed the stolen car at the Irving Mainway gas station on Stillwater Avenue near the Old Town line and pulled his cruiser behind the car, blocking it between his cruiser and a red pickup truck, Wilcox said.

Wilcox knocked on the car’s window and the driver tried to drive away, but ended up striking the pickup before stopping.

Wilcox pulled the driver, later identified as David O’Clair, out of the car and placed him under arrest, Wilcox said. Old Town police Officer Brent Fournier assisted Wilcox in the arrest of Derek O’Clair, who initially tried to walk away from the car, but was ordered back to his seat.

Tests later revealed David O’Clair’s blood-alcohol level to be 0.18 percent.

The men were taken to the Penobscot County Jail and were later released on personal recognizance bail.

Damage to the stolen vehicle and to the pickup truck, which was owned by Carl Philbrick of Greenbush, was estimated at less than $1,000 each.