A man who police said is suspect in a shooting and had weapons in his vehicle was arrested Friday night following car chases in Standish and Cornish, authorities said.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Aaron Difillipo, 52, had a crossbow and rifle casings in his vehicle when police took him into custody after 11 p.m. Friday.
The sheriff’s office said police originally responded to a call from a Standish homeowner who said a Jeep with its lights off was parked in her driveway. That vehicle matched the description of one used Thursday by a shooting suspect, police said.
When deputies arrived, Difillipo was uncooperative, police said, ignoring deputies’ commands to exit the vehicle. He began consuming “a large quantity” of pills and what appeared to be liquor, the sheriff’s office said, before driving around police vehicles and spike strips and through a ditch.
Deputies chased Difillipo until he took a side road while out of view, eluding the police. But after clearing the scene in Standish, police found him again on Route 113 and began another chase. After Difillipo turned onto Route 5/117 in nearby Cornish, Maine State Police took over the pursuit.
State police said they used a PIT maneuver to force Difillipo to stop, after which he was taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office said a crossbow, liquor and 30-30 rifle shell casings were in plain view inside Difillipo’s vehicle.
Difillipo was taken to the Cumberland County Jail, where he was being held on charges that included operating under the influence, criminal threatening, illegal possession of a firearm, obstructing government administration and eluding an officer.
The sheriff’s office said a deputy who responded to the incident suffered puncture wounds on his arm from a police dog. The deputy had to be taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland and was released after treatment.
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