Manchester Man Charged with DWI After Fleeing Vernon Scene

The new year may not have started out as planned for one 32-year-old Manchester man.

At just after 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, Reginald Jonston, of 50 North St., was flushed out of an abandoned shed on Grove Street in Vernon by a state police canine unit and at gunpoint after leading local police on a vehicle and foot chase, according to .

Jonston was charged with interfering with a police officer, driving while intoxicated, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving. He was held on a $5,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in today, Jan. 3.

According to Vernon police, an officer spotted Jonston driving on Route 30 near the Tolland town line early New Year’s Day at a high rate of speed. The road conditions were slick, but the vehicle make a quick turn onto Grove Street and continued traveling at about 60 miles per hour, according to police.

The officer attempted to catch up to the vehicle and was finally able to do so when Jonston took a quick left onto Bradley Drive, a small, dead end street. Once there, Jonston exited the car and ran into the wooded area and then disappeared down a large embankment near Paper Mill Road, according to police. The officer was able to catch sight of Jonston’s jacket, which had an East Side Motorcycle Crew Prospect patch affixed to the coat, according to police. 

Police contacted the vehicle’s owner and determined that the Jonston was the owner’s boyfriend and that the car was not stolen. A state police canine unit assisted local police in tracking Jonston through the woods to the shed at 19 Grove St. where he was apprehended, according to police.