Arrest Made In February High-Speed Incident In Vernon

VERNON, CT — State police have arrested Torrington man in connection with a high-speed incident in Vernon.

On Saturday, the Troop L barracks in Litchfield contacted the Troop C barracks in Tolland to say that they had 24-year-old Kyle Espute in the custody on a warrant from Espute's from the Feb. 22 incident, in which he engaged a state trooper in pursuit on I-84 in Vernon, shortly after engaging Vernon police in a pursuit.

Espute was transported to Troop C, where he was processed on several charges:

• Misuse of a registration plate
• Reckless driving (greater than 85 mph)
• Engaging police in a pursuit
• Second-degree reckless endangerment

Espute was released from custody on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on May 6, state police said.

According to a warrant, at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 22, A state trooper was patrolling the area of Exit 67 on the eastbound side of Interstate 84 and received an alert about a gray Acura that had broken loose from a pursuit with Vernon police. Meanwhile, the Vernon officer had a car pulled oveer that was speeding in tandem with the Acura, according to a warrant.

The plate belonged to a Ford Focus and not the Acura, police said in a warrant.

The trooper caught up to to the Acura at 92 mph and was able to shine his spotlight on the driver to get a description before breaking off the chase for safety reasons, according to a warrant. Between that and the testimony from the car puilled over by Vernon police, the driver was identified as Espute, according to a warrant.