Chase case ends in plea deals

A Bradford couple who led police on a high-speed chase from downtown Springfield to Ascutney in December have now both resolved their criminal cases stemming from that incident.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140519/NEWS02/705199971

Published May 19, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Chase case ends in plea deals By Eric Francis CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Bradford couple who led police on a high-speed chase from downtown Springfield to Ascutney in December have now both resolved their criminal cases stemming from that incident. Last week Riley Charbono, 24, was fined after she pleaded guilty to providing false information to police who said they encountered her while they were searching for Timothy Keith Jr. after he ditched his car near Wilgus State Park at the end of the pursuit. Police said Charbono gave them a fake name and kept insisting she had no idea who Keith was even though they later noted he has “Riley” tattooed across his neck in large letters. Following his capture, Keith, 27, had waived extradition to New Hampshire to face an outstanding probation warrant for him in the Granite State. On Wednesday, he conducted his change of plea hearing by phoning into the courtroom in White River Junction from the Grafton County Jail in North Haverhill, N.H. Judge Karen Carroll and the attorneys dealing with the case listened over a speakerphone as Keith pleaded guilty to an amended charge of grossly negligent operation of a vehicle in exchange for a one-year sentence that will run concurrently with the time he is presently serving in New Hampshire for bail jumping. The pursuit on the evening of Dec. 20, 2013, began after Keith went to a tow truck company to pick up his white Ford Mustang which had been abandoned the night before when it struck a tree. When Keith took the car from the lot without paying the $295 towing fee and showing proof of insurance, the wrecker company called police who spotted the car moments later in downtown Springfield. Springfield Police Sgt. Bill Daniels and two other cruisers pursued the Mustang up to Weathersfield Center Road at speeds of 80 mph before breaking it off because of dangerous conditions. Weathersfield Police Officer Jonathan Norton picked up the chase 10 minutes later when the Mustang appeared on Route 5 and watched as it passed cars at speeds “well in excess of 100 mph” on the wrong side of the road until it finally spun out and slid into a ditch just south of the Hodgden Brothers salvage yard. Keith was caught minutes later after he ran through a section of Wilgus State Park and emerged near where Charbono was parked in another car. Keith’s criminal history includes felony convictions for burglary, attempted assault and robbery with a weapon, escape and attempting to elude. He was also the focus of a manhunt in 2010 when U.S. marshals and New Hampshire state troopers captured him following a foot chase through the woods in Warren, N.H.