A wild chase that began in North Adams, Massachusetts ended with two arrests in Pittsfield Tuesday.
After North Adams police attempted to arrest suspects Arnold Chapman and Shannon Brown for attempting to return around $2,000 in stolen merchandise to the city’s Walmart, the pair fled the scene – beginning a chase that involved multiple Berkshire County and eventually state law enforcement departments.
Police say the pair ditched their initial vehicle – a black pickup truck with Florida plates – on West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield and took a taxi to Enterprise Rental on East Street. Pittsfield Police Department Detective Lieutenant Marc Maddalena says a Massachusetts State Police Trooper confronted them there.
“According to reports, the trooper attempted to detain both of them," he told WAMC. "Those attempts failed, and one of them assaulted her.”
This broadened the scope of the investigation to helicopters and K9 units. Soon after, Pittsfield Police and the Berkshire County Sherriff’s Office located and arrested both suspects – one of whom had hypothermia from an attempt to hide in the Housatonic River. The latter suspect has an extraditable warrant from the state of Florida for a number of crimes. Maddalena confirmed that local law enforcement was arranging for him to be returned to Florida to face trial there. Police say Chapman and Brown are suspected of involvement in similar crimes involving returning stolen merchandise to Walmart stores in Pittsfield and Hadley, Massachusetts.
