On Wednesday afternoon Greenwich Police traveled to the CT Adult Probation office in Norwalk to arrest Donald E. Smith, 19, of 26 High Street, Apt. 2 in Norwalk on a warrant.
Smith was charged with Larceny 3rd degree, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 3rd degree, Interfering with an Officer, Possession of Burglar’s Tools, Illegal Possession of Marijuana under 1/2 oz, Engaging Police in Pursuit and Reckless Driving.
Smith, unable to post a $25,000 court set bond, was placed in a Greenwich Police cell block. He has a court date on August 5.
According to Greenwich Police, the arrest warrant stemmed from an early morning car theft on Monday at about 2:30am. At that time, a Greenwich Police officer on patrol observed two suspicious cars on Cliff Avenue in Byram driving very slowly, apparently in tandem.
As the officer approached the vehicles, they accelerated in opposite directions at a high rate of speed, with one passing dangerously close to the marked police car traveling in the opposite lane of travel.
The officer attempted to stop one of the vehicles, a Mazda Protege, and the operator continued to engage the officer in pursuit.
The fleeing vehicle drove onto the dead end road portion of Byram Shore Road where the suspect jumped out of the still-moving vehicle and fled on foot. The vehicle rolled into the bushes. Numerous patrols units flooded the area, and the suspect was located a short distance away.
The suspect, Donald Smith, was identified as a supervised person from Stamford Adult Probation. He and his two co-conspirators had stolen the second car, a 2007 Chevy Malibu, which was recovered and returned to its owner.
The Greenwich Police Department has obtained warrants for Smith and two of his co-conspirators. With the cooperation of Stamford and Norwalk Police, the Greenwich Police are actively pursuing them and expect to announce additional arrests.