ANDOVER — A couple were arrested early Friday morning after leading police on a chase through rural Oxford County with three children in a truck.

Tyler Shorty, 31, of Oakland, and Amanda Pingree, 34, of Andover were arrested around 2:02 a.m. Friday on South Arm Road.

According to court documents, Shorty was charged with six counts, operating after revocation, driving to endanger, endangering the welfare of a child, failure to stop for an officer, operating with a suspended registration, and violating of conditions of release.

According to a Facebook post by Maine State Police, Pingree was charged with operating under the influence, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration.

Maine State Trooper Jason Wing said in an affidavit that he was driving an unmarked cruiser about 10 p.m. Thursday when he saw a maroon Chevrolet pickup truck traveling west on East Andover Road and operated by Shorty, who had a revoked license and a warrant for violating conditions of release.

Wing followed the truck for a ways and noticed it occasionally veering into the oncoming lane. Approaching Route 5 in Andover, Wing said the truck sped up to 91 mph in a 55 mph zone.

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The trooper turned on his lights and followed it for 23 miles, turning on to South Arm Road in Andover where the truck fishtailed in slushy snow and Pingree and Shorty swapped seats.

Eventually, Wing drove a corner of his cruiser into the rear quarter panel of the driver’s side of the truck, ending the chase.

The trooper said he discovered children ages 15 months, 3 years and 11 years in the truck.

Shorty has an extensive record of criminal charges and traffic violations, including a 2017 conviction in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta for eluding an officer, according to a court record. He was sentenced to two years in prison with all but six months suspended.

On Friday, Shorty appeared before a judge at Oxford County Superior Court in Paris, where his bail was set at $500 cash. He was released Friday evening. Bail conditions include no contact with Pingree, and no use of alcohol or drugs. He’s scheduled to appear in Rumford District Court on June 24.

Pingree was issued a criminal summons, and was not taken to jail.

The Maine Warden Service, U.S Border Patrol agents, and deputies from Franklin and Oxford counties assisted in the chase.


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