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On December 15, 2020, at approximately 5:05 PM, a State Trooper that was conducting speed enforcement on I-84 clocked a 2016 Cadillac XTS at 112 MPH in the area of exit 66 in the town of Vernon. The trooper caught up with the car and did a registration check and found out that the car was actually stolen from it’s owner in Newington a few days prior. Troopers followed the vehicle from a distance until additional units were positioned in the area. The car exited the interstate at exit 71 in Willington.
At that point, Troopers deployed stop sticks in the area of Jared Sparks and Rt 74 in Willington. The car started to accelerate, engaging troopers in pursuit. The initial trooper tried to box in the suspect as it lost its 2 passenger side tires as a result of the stop sticks. The operator of the stolen Cadillac then rammed the back of the state police cruiser intentionally before being boxed in by a 2nd state police cruiser. The Cadillac then swerved across a residential yard, where it came to a stop.
The occupants got out of the car and fled on foot. The troopers that boxed in the Cadillac were K-9 units and quickly dispatched 2 dogs, K-9 Rocky and K-9 Drago. They were able to assist in apprehending 3 out of the 6 occupants of the car. Another occupant was located at a residence attempting to ask a homeowner to use their phone. K-9 Jay and his handler from Troop H was called in to assist and help locate a 5th occupant after a track. It was also reported that the 6th occupant who also fled on foot, had stolen a local tow truck and fled the area.
The driver of the Cadillac was identified as 21 year old Luis DeJesus of Tolland and was charged with numerous violations and held at Troop C on a $100,000 bond.
Passenger, 18 year old Kenny Ortiz of New Britain, was charged with interfering, conspiracy to commit larceny, and possession of burglary tools was held on a $50,000 bond and was also found to have an active violation of probation warrant with a $30,000 bond. The other passenger that was apprehended on scene, 19 year old Trinity Facoccia was charged with with interfering, conspiracy to commit larceny, and possession of burglary tools was released on a $10,000 bond and has a court date set for February 10, 2021.
The 2 other passengers located were identified as juvenile females, aged 13 and 14. They were both issued a summons and released to their parents.
The investigation concluded that they were all headed to attempt to steal and burglarize additional cars in Tolland County.