BELFAST — A Brooks man has been arrested following a police pursuit at slow speeds through multiple towns. 

On January 9, 2023, at approximately 2:36 a.m., Belfast Officers stopped a vehicle in the area of 22 Searsport Ave for a license plate violation. According to a Belfast Police Dept. news release, the driver could not produce a drivers license, only a state ID. During the time officers spoke with the driver, they reportedly started to develop concerns that he was impaired by drugs, alcohol, or both. When officers asked the operator to exit the vehicle to further investigate his impairment, they allegedly observed the driver reach for something they believed was a handgun on the seat.

When officers backed up to begin to give him commands to show his hands, the suspect fled in the vehicle, which began a slow speed pursuit through several towns. During the allow speed pursuit, Waldo Dispatch confirmed that the operator hade two outstanding arrest warrants, was on bail conditions and had a revoked license.

Belfast officers requested the assistance of Waldo County Sheriffs who were able to deploy spike strips to disable the vehicle.

“The vehicle eventually became disabled on Moosehead Trail in Plymouth at which point the suspect refused to exit, and barricaded himself in the vehicle,” said Belfast Chief Robert Cormier, in the release. “Negotiators attempted to negotiate the suspect out of the vehicle for several hours with no success.”

At one point the suspect told Police that he had a handgun in the vehicle, according to Cormier. After a several hour standoff with police the suspect eventually was taken into custody by the Penobscot County Sheriffs Office Special Response Team without incident. The suspect was transported back to Waldo County to face charges and the vehicle, a 2007 Buick Lucerne color green was seized by Belfast Police pending a search warrant.

Arrested was Stephen Larrabee, 48, of Brooks. Larrabee was charged with Operating After Revocation, Violations of Conditions of Release, Failure to Stop for a Law Enforcement Officer, and Felon in possession of firearms. During booking, it was also learned that the suspect was in possession of what appeared to be illegal narcotics, according to police. Those charges are pending further investigation.

The defendant is currently being held in Waldo County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned on March 3.