Cops: Pedestrians Scatter as Man Drives on Sidewalk to Evade Police

Pedestrians on a New Canaan sidewalk scattered Sunday afternoon as a car driven by a New York man trying to avoid arrest drove onto the sidewalk to get around some cars on Grove Street, town police said.

The Bronx man, 21, then led New Canaan police on a chase, which (more than once) was broken off because the man was driving so fast, and then renewed when police found his vehicle, police said.

Police pursued him into Stamford, where his car was found crashed against a tree, then they followed his footprints in the snow, seeing him before he was able to get away on foot, according to police reports.

The man was later held by New York state troopers in Pound Ridge, NY, arrested by town police and charged with a number of crimes, police said. Then he was released on $10,000 bond.

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Here’s a Google Maps illustration (which may miss some twists and turns on side streets) of the route the suspect is alleged to have taken, from Walgreens in New Canaan to the spot where police say they found his car crashed in Stamford. (For the rest of his alleged escape route, see below.)

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It all began, police said, with a report from Walgreens at 36 Pine St. that a man was trying to buy gift cards with a number of credit cards that repeatedly were rejected — a sign that raises suspicion of identity theft and credit card fraud.

New Canaan police gave this account (accusations not proven in court) of the matter:

At 3:14 p.m. a Walgreens store clerk reported to police that a man was trying to buy gift cards with credit cards that kept on being rejected. As a police officer pulled into the parking lot at the store, a clerk ran out to tell the officer that the suspect had just left in a black car with New York state license plates, heading west on Pine St.

The officer drove in that direction and came upon a black BMW matching that description. The driver — later identified as Marcus McCray of 820 Boynton Ave. in the Bronx, was seen turning right from Pine Street onto Grove Street, where he drove around some cars stopped at a stop sign by driving on the sidewalk, scattering pedestrians.

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He then turned left onto Elm Street, headed west — using the side of the road where oncoming cars headed east were forced off the road as he sped through. He drove the same way on Elm Street.

An officer wrote in a report that McCray’s driving was “completely reckless” with “no care for pedestrians or drivers in the area.”

McCray turned right onto Weed Street and sped off to West Road, where he turned left. He drove the wrong way around a traffic island and headed west, then turned onto Greenley Road, and then right onto Ponus Ridge Road. As he neared Stamford, police in that city were notified that a pursuit was headed in that direction.

As the driver sped faster north on Ponus Ridge Road, police called off the pursuit, due to the danger to others on the road. But officers then searched the area, where they found McCray’s car in the middle of Trinity Pass Road, not moving. As officers approached, the car again sped off. The car entered Stamford, police again called off the pursuit a second time and again police drove around.

At some spot, the car was again seen, again drove off and the pursuit was called off a third time, yet again with police looking around for the car on nearby streets.

This time, when police found the car yet again, it had crashed in the woods, its air bags deployed — but with the suspect no longer inside. Tracks in the snow led 150 yards up a hill in the woods. Pursuing on foot, police caught sight of the man, but lost him within about half a mile. His footprints still let them track him.

At one point, police found the footprints and canine units from Stamford and Norwalk police departments were brought in. Between the footprints and the dogs, police got as far as 99 Black Rock Rd. in Stamford before the trail was lost.

But at 4:45 p.m., the loss of the suspect was reversed — New York state police troopers informed New Canaan police that they had taken the suspect in custody in front of 21 Old Snake Hill Rd. in Pound Ridge. New Canaan officers went to Pound Ridge, and officers who had pursued McCray on foot identified him as the man they wanted.

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This Google Map shows the location where McCray was found in Stamford and where the he was picked up by New York state troopers in Pound Ridge, according to New Canaan police. (The route marked is not meant to show the suspect’s route.)

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McCray at first said he was only a passenger in the vehicle, but later admitted that he was the driver. He admitted that he was using stolen credit card information to try to get gift certificates at Walgreens in New Canaan and said he had successfully done the same thing at a Walgreens in Stamford earlier in the day.

He also admitted that he fled in his car from police.

McCray was charged with third-degree forgery, first-degree reckless endangerment (a misdemeanor), identity theft, six counts of credit card theft and three counts of illegal use of a credit card. To those charges, New Canaan police expect to add motor vehicle charges, as well.

McCray’s bond was set at $10,000, and he is scheduled to appear April 10 in state Superior Court in Norwalk.