By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

A Massachusetts man who police said outran cops in a pair of high-speed chases in that state Saturday night was cold and wet when he met his match Sunday afternoon on East Oxford Road in Oxford.

David Mailly, 39, of Framingham, Mass., was being held Sunday evening on $5,000 cash bail at the Androscoggin County Jail on charges of eluding a police officer and receiving stolen property.

Mailly was taken into custody about 3 p.m. Sunday by Oxford police after running and hiding from the law for hours in the cold, wet woods off East Oxford and Hebron roads in Oxford.

Local cops caught wind of Mailly on a routine call to check on a vehicle that appeared to have been in an accident.

Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Jacques, who was patrol supervisor Sunday, said Deputy Craig MacMillan pulled up behind the 2004 Lexus SUV on Route 26 in Poland at about 6 a.m. Sunday in response to the complaint.

As soon as MacMillan showed up, though, the driver put the SUV into gear “and sped off,” said Jacques.

MacMillan attempted to stop the Lexus as it headed north on Route 26 through Poland then into Mechanic Falls and Oxford.

As the chase continued, MacMillan was advised by a dispatcher that the Lexus had been stolen in Walpole, Mass., on Saturday and had already been involved in two high-speed chases.

One of those chases, in Boston late Saturday night, was broken off by police after the Lexus intentionally rammed a police cruiser from that city, Jacques said. Later, Massachusetts State Police caught sight of the vehicle on the Massachusetts Turnpike and gave chase but also lost it.

As his pursuit continued, MacMillan radioed for assistance from Oxford, Mechanic Falls, Paris and Norway police. The Lexus turned onto Station Road in Oxford, then onto East Oxford.

MacMillan got some help when another cop put out a spike mat across the road where it intersects with Hebron Road.

“They got it good. All four tires were flattened,” said Tim Jones, who lives on East Oxford Road and had followed some of the chase on a scanner. His grandfather, who lives nearby, actually saw the Lexus go by followed “about 10 seconds later by a cruiser,” Jones said

“The operator bailed out of the truck and ran on foot” when the SUV’s tires deflated about a mile from the intersection, said Jacques.

That led to a call for more officers, who began to initiate a ground search for the suspect. While waiting for state troopers, members of the Maine Warden Service and at least three tracking dogs, local police went door to door in some places, cautioning people to stay inside.

“They gave my grandfather a description of the guy,” Jones said, “a 5-foot, 9-inch male.”

Police finally located Mailly at about 3 p.m., according to Jacques. Cold and wet, he was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway to be checked for hypothermia before being hauled off to the Androscoggin County Jail in the county where the area chase began.

Jacques said the Lexus, which was valued at $50,000, was extensively damaged in the run-in with the Boston Police cruiser Saturday night. He added that the Boston cruiser also was heavily damaged.

“It is still unknown why (Mailly) came to Maine,” said Jacques.

He said police from Walpole and Boston, and Massachusetts State Police were continuing their investigation into the incident and could lodge additional charges.

Besides Oxford and other town police, Oxford County deputies joined Androscoggin County deputies, Maine State Police and wardens in combing the Oxford area for the suspect, Jacques said.