HOLDEN — A Brewer man suspected of burglary is being held on several charges Monday after he allegedly led police on a vehicle chase that began in Holden and turned into a foot chase after he rolled his car in Dedham, a Holden police official said.

Charles Fling Jr., 33, is charged with reckless driving and eluding police officers, Sgt. Eugene Fizell said Monday evening.

Additional charges are expected as a result of the original burglary complaint, which is being investigated by Holden police with the assistance of Deputy Jason Matheson of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, Fizell said.

The series of incidents that led to Fling’s arrest began about 5 p.m., when Fizell was called to a residence on Mann Hill Road, where a homeowner reportedly interrupted a burglary.

“I spotted the suspect vehicle, a silver VW,” Fizell said. “The registration plate numbers matched the ones given by the caller from the residence.

“I turned my cruiser around and tried to stop the VW on the Bagaduce Road, using my lights and siren,” he said. “The VW sped up, and without slowing or stopping, crossed Route 1A from Bagaduce Road onto South Road.”

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The suspect’s vehicle continued across South Road at speeds up to 90 mph in a 35-mph zone, Fizell said.

“While refusing to stop for my emergency lights and siren and at high speeds, he passed vehicles also going south and those going northbound, forcing several vehicles to the ditch,” Fizell said.

“The VW crossed Route 46 going from South Road onto Mill Street in Dedham without stopping at a speed of 60 mph. We continued up Mill Street to Upper Dedham Road in Dedham,” Fizell said.

While making a left turn, the driver — later identified as Fling — crossed Upper Dedham Road and struck an embankment on the opposite side, after which the car rolled onto its roof, Fizell said. Fling got himself out of the car and ran from the scene.

“There was a foot chase until he went into the thick of the woods,” Fizell said.

He said officers from the Bucksport and Brewer police departments, the Penobscot and Hancock sheriff’s offices and the Maine State Police helped canvass the area and apprehended the suspect.

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“He was found in the woods off Route 46 and arrested,” Fizell said.

Before Fling was taken to Penobscot County Jail, he was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center for a medical examination.

Fling has a criminal history that dates to at least 2005, according to the Bangor Daily News archives.

His rap sheet includes convictions in 2009 for domestic violence assault and domestic violence terrorizing.

In 2006, he was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, and driving while his license was suspended or revoked. Those charges stemmed from a Bangor police investigation into a residential copper theft on Fern Street.

Also in 2006, Fling was convicted of a theft that occurred in late 2005 at Walmart, according to published reports.

The rollover crash is being investigated by Deputy Jeffrey McFarlane of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

Holden police are asking anyone who was passed during the chase on South Road to call the police station at 843-5442.


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