SCHENECTADY — Two Saratoga County residents are facing charges after leading Glenville and Schenectady police officers on a chase into the city and through the Rivers Casino property early Sunday.
At about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Glenville police clocked a vehicle traveling at 70 mph on Maple Avenue, Police Chief Steve Janik said. Officers turned on their roof lights and tried to pull the car over, but it sped off, he said.
The car traveled down Freemans Bridge Road, across the river and into Schenectady, where it turned in to the Rivers Casino entrance, wove through the parking lot and ended up going down Front Street into the Stockade, Janik said. It sped through multiple stop signs and intersections before striking a street sign at the corner of Washington Avenue and Cucumber Alley, Janik said.
Schenectady police arrived to assist, and, in photos taken by a resident who lives near the site of the crash, officers can be seen approaching the vehicle with guns drawn. The driver exited with her pants dropped.
“At the conclusion of a pursuit, it is not uncommon for officers to be at full guard because of the stakes involved, not knowing whether the person is armed or has committed a serious crime,” Janik said.
Officers were able to reach the vehicle’s owner and learned the car was stolen from her driveway in Saratoga County, Janik said.
Police arrested Stacey Lincoln Dressel, 36, from Greenfield Center, and charged her with 14 violations and misdemeanors, including reckless driving, fleeing a police officer, criminal possession of a controlled substance and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
The passenger, Philip M. Girard, 28, was also arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.
The Glenville Police Department typically does a thorough examination in the aftermath of car chases to ensure a pursuit was justified. In this case, Janik said, traffic was light at the time, speeds weren’t reckless, given the conditions, and the end result was positive. No other civilians or civilian vehicles were involved in the chase, he said.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
