The incident began when the driver of a vehicle with two passengers refused to stop for West Hartford Police on Wednesday.

Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Police conducted an extensive search for three suspects near Conard High School and Duffy Elementary School on Wednesday after the driver of a rented car refused to stop for police and then abandoned the vehicle on I-84 near South Main Street.

West Hartford Police Lt. Eric Rocheleau said police initially attempted to stop a tan Chevy Impala at 1:38 p.m. on Jan. 4 near Kane Street for motor vehicle infractions that included windows tinted too darkly. The vehicle, which was a rental car, was occupied by three males, police said.

According to police the driver failed to stop and instead entered I-84 headed westbound. The abandoned Impala was located a short time later on the side of I-84 near South Main Street exit 41, police said.

Officers conducted an extensive search of the area and located two of the suspects on Rockledge Golf Course.

Assistant Chief Bob McCue found one of those suspects hiding under a bridge on the golf course, Rocheleau said. Det. Todd Myers and Sgt.  Michael Camilleri also assisted with the arrest of that suspect, identified as Alexander Maurice Patterson, 28, of Bristol.

Detective Todd Myers from the Special Investigations Division apprehended and arrested William Latimer, 36, of Hartford, as he was trying to exit the golf course.

The third suspect, Markise Jackson, 31, of Bristol, was found hiding in a shed on nearby Pine Brook Lane in the neighborhood just north of the golf course. He was arrested by Off. Jerimiah Gagnon.

All three have been charged with with interfering, failure to stop when signaled, tinted windows, and possession of marijuana.

Police said that Jackson “had absconded from parole” and was taken into custody. According to court documents, Jackson was still on parole after being convicted of possession with intent to sell drugs in 2012, and also has past convictions for interfering with an officer, criminal impersonation, and reckless endangerment.

The location of the search was near both Conard High School and Duffy Elementary School, and because it occurred near the time that students were being dismissed, extra security was provided by police at both schools.

“The call was of particular concern because school was getting out around that time so there was a very large response by the West Hartford Police Department, McCue said. A lockdown was not initiated, however, because McCue said that the car was found on the highway just after the elementary school students had been dismissed for the day, and the high school had dismissed more than an hour earlier.

“The incident is a good example of the teamwork that the officers at WHPD do,” McCue said.

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