A 43-year-old Bradford man led police on an extensive chase through three towns by car and then on foot through swamps and deep snow in Charleston before he was detained, at which point he told police he was unable to take a breathalyzer test, according to a Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy.

According to a lengthy report filed by Deputy Roy Peary, just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Peary attempted to pull over Earl Parfitt who was driving his 1997 blue Dodge pickup truck south on Route 15 in Kenduskeag. The truck was driving in the center of the road and its taillights were out, Peary’s report states. After slowly coming to a stop, the truck accelerated and took off, heading right onto Townhouse Road, crossing over Green Bridge and turning down Stetson Road. At that point, Sgt. Scott Young of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department. had joined the chase and the two vehicles followed Parfitt with their sirens and lights on.

Without stopping at stop signs and speeding up to 60 mph, Parfitt led the chase over town lines into Corinth and then Charleston, according to Peary’s report. Parfitt turned left off Isthmus Road in Charleston, “attempting to travel through a snowbank and continue down a snowmobile trail.” At that point, Parfitt’s truck became lodged in the snowbank and he got out of the vehicle and fled on foot down the trail, Peary’s report states.

The officers called in State Trooper Barry Meserve with his K-9 unit and Peary, Meserve and State Trooper Brian Bean tracked Parfitt “on a grueling track through swamps and very deep snow,” Peary wrote. When they finally caught up to Parfitt, the officers noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol and Parfitt admitted to having “a few drinks” and an unregistered vehicle, the report states.

No one needed medical attention and Parfitt was taken to Penobscot County Jail. Young removed two cans of beer from Parfitt’s truck, the report states.

At the jail, Peary prepared an Intoxilyzer test to detect alcohol in Parfitt’s breath, but Parfitt would not breathe into the machine, Peary said. Parfitt instead started to breathe, then stopped and made his face turn bright red, Peary said.

“I believe Earl was doing this on purpose so that the results would not return,” Peary wrote in his report. “I explained to Earl that he just led us on a long foot chase through deep snow and woods and he was able to breathe the entire trip.”

Parfitt, who resides at 203 Charleston Road in Bradford, was offered a refusal form to sign but he would not sign it. He was charged with eluding an officer and criminal operating under the influence because he had two prior OUI offenses within a 10-year period.

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