Driver faces additional counts after leading police on wild chase

WOONSOCKET — The operator of a stolen vehicle led police on a chase through the Morin Heights Boulevard housing complex Wednesday, but police broke it off when the fugitive pulled off the road and tried to cut between buildings through yard-like grassy areas filled with pedestrians.

Jordan Evan Brochu, 18 of 295 High St., was captured when he abandoned the 2008 Chrysler behind the management office of the public housing development. Police caught up to him on foot after he and a passenger jumped out of the vehicle, attempting to escape on foot.

Brochu – who was on bail from prior charges of motor vehicle theft – is facing new counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, eluding police, driving without a license and failure to stop after an accident involving a road fixture.

The episode unfolded about 1:30 p.m., when an undercover policeman in an unmarked car recognized a Chrysler parked in the housing complex that matched a vehicle described in a be-on-the-lookout alert earlier in the day. The black 2008 Sebring had been reported stolen out of Cumberland, and Brochu was a suspect in the theft.

The undercover policeman began following the vehicle as Brochu got in and began driving away on Morin Heights Boulevard with a male passenger. Another unmarked vehicle joined the pursuit moments later with overhead lights and sirens activated.

Instead of stopping, Brochu allegedly began driving faster. As he approached Linden Avenue, he left the road, driving onto a grassy area between residential structures.

The undercover policeman’s report describes the scene this way:

“Dust was in the air as he cut through the buildings,” he said. “It should be noted that at this time of day, with the warm weather, many people were outside of their homes, including children. The area Brochu drove through was a tight residential area where bystanders could have been hurt or killed.”

No police vehicle followed Brochu into the yard-like common areas of the complex. Instead, they turned around and responded to the location where police thought Brochu would attempt to steer back onto a road – near the complex’s basketball courts and administrative offices.

It was in that area that police, chasing after the suspects on foot, captured Brochu and his passenger – a 14-yearold boy. Police said the minor was also charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and released to an adult guardian pending action in Family Court.