FARMINGTON — Warrants were issued Friday for the arrest of two men believed to be responsible for a series of vehicle thefts and police chases in Farmington and Temple that left a Wilton police officer injured earlier in the week.

Police from several agencies were searching for 22-year-old Robert Charles LaCroix of Clinton Avenue, Winslow, and Jacob Hastings, 20, of Penn Avenue in Augusta.

In warrants issued by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, LaCroix faces charges of passing a roadblock and theft by unauthorized taking. Hastings faces charges of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and theft by unauthorized taking.

According to a Sheriff’s Department press release, the reckless conduct charge is the result of Hastings allegedly ramming a Wilton police cruiser being operated by Officer Nathan Reid on Varnum Pond Road where Reid was attempting to set down a spike mat.

Reid was released from Franklin Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after treatment for injuries suffered when his cruiser was rammed by a speeding van being chased by county deputies along Route 43 toward Temple.

After striking the cruiser, the van left the highway, rolled several times and landed in the yard of a home, police said. Several people in the vehicle fled from the van.

The crime spree began late Tuesday night, said Lt. Niles Yeaton of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. The van was one of five vehicles that were stolen and later recovered. Three were taken from Temple, one from Farmington and one from Augusta, police said. All had keys in the ignition at the time they were taken, Yeaton said.

Police from three departments were investigating the thefts, chases and crash. Farmington police said they received an anonymous tip from a person who was able to help police prepare a composite sketch of at least one of the suspects. Additional evidence was recovered from a business security camera that recorded a suspect being picked up by a person driving another car.

By late Friday, LaCroix and Hastings remained at large. Police said additional people may be charged as the investigation continues.

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