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Car hits police cruiser 2 suspects arrested after 3-hour manhunt
By Nik Bonopartis
Poughkeepsie Journal
Two City of Poughkeepsie men were arrested Monday on charges they stole a car and then crashed it into a town police cruiser, setting off a three-hour search by four law enforcement agencies.
The crash happened at 12:51 p.m. in the parking lot of the Lexington Club at the Galleria, a senior apartment complex off Route 9, according to town police.
Police said the wife of a local firefighter heard reports about a stolen car on a scanner and spotted it near Route 9, alerting town officers on patrol. Officers saw the car pulling out of the parking lot of Foam & Wash near the Galleria on Route 9 and tried to make a stop.
"The car took some evasive action," Lt. James Hamburger said.
Hamburger said the driver pulled into the senior complex with the cruisers behind him.
The alleged driver of the car, 19-year-old Branden Skrine, tried to dodge police by pulling into a parking lot behind the complex. With nowhere to go, he turned the car around and struck a patrol car just as it was coming around a corner in the parking lot, police said.
The resulting collision twisted the wheel on the driver's side of the stolen Chrysler about 90 degrees, rendering the car undrivable.
Police say Skrine and his passenger, Ryan Matthews, 19, jumped out of the car and ran from the parking lot.
The town patrol car was left with a deep, jagged groove in the driver's side door from the force of impact. The officer who was driving the car was not injured.
After more than three hours, another alert citizen helped police by reporting they saw two suspects hiding out in a wooded area near the Olive Garden restaurant on Route 9. Skrine and Matthews were found by a town K9 unit and taken into custody, police said.
The police presence and search caused a stir among neighbors and passers-by on Spring and Vassar roads.
With officers posted every few hundred feet along Spring Road and a sheriff's helicopter hovering in slow circles overhead, drivers slowed down to take a peek or ask officers what had happened.
Along with the town, officers from Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and state police joined the search. At least two K-9 units, one each from town police and the sheriff's office, were called in.
Bill Gearhart had been visiting a relative on Spring Road when he heard the helicopter circling over the neighborhood.
"I heard the chopper from down the street," Gearhart said. "I pulled over to see what's going on. Maybe I'll see something exciting."
Skrine and Matthews were each charged with felony fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Skrine was also charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, and misdemeanor criminal mischief. They were being held by town police Monday night pending arraignment.
By Nik Bonopartis
Poughkeepsie Journal
Two City of Poughkeepsie men were arrested Monday on charges they stole a car and then crashed it into a town police cruiser, setting off a three-hour search by four law enforcement agencies.
The crash happened at 12:51 p.m. in the parking lot of the Lexington Club at the Galleria, a senior apartment complex off Route 9, according to town police.
Police said the wife of a local firefighter heard reports about a stolen car on a scanner and spotted it near Route 9, alerting town officers on patrol. Officers saw the car pulling out of the parking lot of Foam & Wash near the Galleria on Route 9 and tried to make a stop.
"The car took some evasive action," Lt. James Hamburger said.
Hamburger said the driver pulled into the senior complex with the cruisers behind him.
The alleged driver of the car, 19-year-old Branden Skrine, tried to dodge police by pulling into a parking lot behind the complex. With nowhere to go, he turned the car around and struck a patrol car just as it was coming around a corner in the parking lot, police said.
The resulting collision twisted the wheel on the driver's side of the stolen Chrysler about 90 degrees, rendering the car undrivable.
Police say Skrine and his passenger, Ryan Matthews, 19, jumped out of the car and ran from the parking lot.
The town patrol car was left with a deep, jagged groove in the driver's side door from the force of impact. The officer who was driving the car was not injured.
After more than three hours, another alert citizen helped police by reporting they saw two suspects hiding out in a wooded area near the Olive Garden restaurant on Route 9. Skrine and Matthews were found by a town K9 unit and taken into custody, police said.
The police presence and search caused a stir among neighbors and passers-by on Spring and Vassar roads.
With officers posted every few hundred feet along Spring Road and a sheriff's helicopter hovering in slow circles overhead, drivers slowed down to take a peek or ask officers what had happened.
Along with the town, officers from Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and state police joined the search. At least two K-9 units, one each from town police and the sheriff's office, were called in.
Bill Gearhart had been visiting a relative on Spring Road when he heard the helicopter circling over the neighborhood.
"I heard the chopper from down the street," Gearhart said. "I pulled over to see what's going on. Maybe I'll see something exciting."
Skrine and Matthews were each charged with felony fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Skrine was also charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, and misdemeanor criminal mischief. They were being held by town police Monday night pending arraignment.
