By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — A Vermont man allegedly led police on a chase in a stolen car with two passengers with warrants, and while he was able to elude police after unloading his passengers, they were ultimately arrested and the driver is facing felony charges.
Gary A. Lescord, 42, of Athens, Vermont, was arrested for the charges of eluding a law enforcement officer in a grossly negligent manner and operation without owners consent – aggravated. Both charges for Lescord are felonies with the first carrying a potential penalty of not more than five years in prison and/or not more than $1,000 in fines. The second charge has a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and/or up to $2,000 in fines.
On Feb. 20 at 11:01 p.m. Bellows Falls Police officers attempted to stop a vehicle for numerous violations on West Street in Bellows Falls.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers were traveling down Church Place when they saw a 2006 Subaru Forester running and parked in front of 12 Church Place. They drove past it and confirmed that it was missing an inspection sticker. Shortly after, officers saw the Subaru travel onto George Street, and as it accelerated, officers could hear that the exhaust was louder than usual and possibly defective.
The officers caught up to the Subaru in the area of Pine and West Street and attempted to stop the vehicle. Although the emergency lights were initiated, the vehicle did not stop, according to court records. It continued at a normal speed before activating the right turn signal, but failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of West Street and Route 121. The vehicle then proceeded west on Route 121 and the police activated the siren. This didn’t stop the Subaru, as it continued westbound at varying speeds between 35 and 45 mph while maintaining its lane.
When approaching the intersection of Route 121 and Back Westminster Road, the vehicle turned south on Back Westminster Road and stopped briefly, and people “hastily” exited the vehicle.
“The operator then fled again and struck one of the passenger’s feet with the vehicle while doing so,” a report by the Bellows Falls Police stated.
According to the court affidavit, the person whose foot was hit by the vehicle was a pregnant woman who was evaluated by emergency personnel rather than being arrested.
Deputies from the Windham County Sheriff’s Office and Walpole N.H. Police officers located the vehicle later without the driver at the Shady Pines Trailer Park off Back Westminster Road.
The vehicle was seized pending a search warrant application and was reported stolen to the Vermont State Police in the following days. A woman advised that she had left her car in the town of Athens and when she returned to the house, the car was gone but her mother was home. She advised her mother and was unsure if her husband had taken the car. The husband of her mother was reportedly Lescord, but he did not have permission to drive and also does not have a license.
The vehicle was then passed to the Bellows Falls Police Department. The search warrant led to police finding drug paraphernalia including a crack pipe and other related items.
Stephen R. Mecheski, 21, of Putney, Vermont, was one of the occupants and he initially identified himself as Stephen Roberts, according to the affidavit. He was arrested on an in-state warrant issued by Vermont Superior Court – Windham Unit. Mecheski was arrested and subsequently lodged at Southern State Correctional Facility in lieu of $500 bail.
The other occupant was Roger L. Colby III, 40, of Putney, Vermont, who was discovered to have an extraditable warrant out of New Hampshire for the crime of receiving stolen property. He was arrested and ordered held in lieu of $25,000 cash/surety bail on the charge of being a Fugitive from Justice.
According to the court affidavit, officers spoke with Colby and told him he was not under arrest and just being detained at first. Colby consented to a search of his person and police found drug paraphernalia, allegedly. Officers asked him who was driving the vehicle, and he said his first name was Gary but did not provide a last name. Another female passenger in the vehicle who was not arrested knew his last name to be Lescord, and officers knew who he was based on other law enforcement encounters.
According to the affidavit, police spoke with the pregnant woman who appeared to be “distraught and was crying.” She told officers that “he wouldn’t stop.” Wilkins said he was not aware of why Lescord had run and that everyone in the vehicle put their hands up to show police they didn’t want to be running. He said everyone in the vehicle was screaming for him to pull over.
Bellows Falls Officers located Lescord at an Athens residence and was put under arrest. He was ordered held on $5,000 cash/surety bail and ordered to appear in Vermont Superior Court – Windham Unit on Feb. 27. He was lodged at the Southern State Correctional Facility.
The Bellows Falls Police Department was assisted by the Walpole N.H. Police Department, the Windham County Sheriff’s Office, Westminster Fire & Rescue, Walpole Fire & Rescue, and J&M Auto with regard to this incident.
