LEWISTON — Police captured a Readfield man considered armed and dangerous Friday morning after a dramatic chase downtown.

Police in Lewiston had been searching for 30-year-old Luke Blair, a man with a violent criminal history who was wanted in Kennebec County on a domestic violence charge.

On Friday, police said, Blair took off running after officers spotted him at about 10 a.m. on Ash Street. During the pursuit, Blair smashed his way into a pair of apartments at 34 Shawmut St., police said.

Blair then barricaded himself in an apartment on the first floor, sending tenants of the building scurrying to safety. A short time later, police forced their way into the building in pursuit of the suspect.

Blair punched through a window screen in an attempt to escape through a window, police said. By then, the officers were on him and Blair was taken into custody.

He is presently charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of criminal mischief and single counts of terrorizing and refusing to submit to arrest.

Police said Blair was recently released from prison after serving nearly 10 years for an elevated aggravated assault conviction in Lewiston. In that 2008 case, police said, Blair attacked a man with an ice chopper, hitting the man so hard, the tool became partially embedded in the victim’s skull.