Police Aerial, Ground Pursuit Of Serial Shoplifting Suspects Starts In Glastonbury, Ends In New Britain

GLASTONBURY, CT — A police pursuit that began in Glastonbury led to an arrest in New Britain, state police said.

State police released details of the Nov. 5 incident Friday.

According to an incident report, At 3 p.m., Wednesday, members of the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Special Investigations, with assistance from the Connecticut State Police Aviation Unit, conducted an operation involving three suspects tied to a retail theft organization that has been active throughout New England for the past 90 days, according.

The group is believed to be responsible for stealing more than $135,000 in merchandise from home improvement retailers and has previously brandished firearms toward loss-prevention personnel in some stores, according to an incident report.

The suspects have also been involved in multiple motor vehicle pursuits with various police departments, state police said.

According to an incident report, after receiving information that the suspects were in the area of a department store in Glastonbury, detectives responded to the scene and the CSP Aviation Unit established aerial surveillance of their vehicle.

The suspects once again engaged police in a pursuit and officers broke it off "for safety reasons" while the CSP Aviation Unit continued tracking the vehicle.

It then traveled into New Britain, according to an incident report.

When the vehicle stopped at a fast-food restaurant, detectives moved in, and the driver, identified as Desmond Ellison, 25, of Meriden, fled on foot, state police said.

After a brief foot pursuit, Ellison was taken into custody and was found to be in possession of a controlled substance, according to an incident report.

Ellison was charged with interfering with police and possession of a controlled substance. Ellison was later released on a $2,500 bond and is scheduled to appear at New Britain Superior Court on Nov. 19, records show.,

Meanwhile, the remaining occupants fled in the vehicle and the CSP Aviation Unit maintained visual contact and provided updated locations to ground units, according to an incident report. The vehicle later stopped in Meriden, where Meriden Police Department officers engaged in two foot pursuits and apprehended both suspects with the assistance from the CSP Aviation Unit, according to an incident report.