WILLIMANTIC, Conn. — A police chase that ended in a crash early Tuesday morning on Route 2 near Riverside Drive in East Hartford started all the way in Willimantic, where the suspect stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a family-owned business in Willimantic.
Police have identified the suspect as Lyle Solsbury of Danbury. He is also the suspect in an earlier burglary in Lisbon.
The box truck was stolen from Waterbury, police said. Solsbury will face criminal charges.
Over at Napa Auto and Truck Parts in Willimantic, the front glass door was shattered and the store's sign was dented from the box truck backing into it to get inside.
In video obtained by FOX61 News, both burglaries were caught on surveillance footage.
Solsbury is seen in the video searching the registers, and he allegedly stole generators, oil, wipers and other expensive equipment, and was filling up the big white box truck with stolen merchandise.
He was almost caught red-handed. Footage shows a Willimantic police officer trying to stop Solsbury in the parking lot. He sped away with the trunk wide open, leaving a trail of evidence as the stolen goods fell onto the road.
"It was all falling out as he sped away, the back door was open so it all ended up in the road and on the parking lot," said Aaron LeBlanc, manager of the store.
By the time he and his father, Jeff LeBlanc, made it to their store, the suspect was caught on Route 2 near Riverside Drive, about 30 minutes away.
FOX61 spotted that truck driving on the shoulder of the road around 5:30 a.m., with the trunk still wide open. Five police cruisers were chasing it.
Police said the box truck crashed into at least two other vehicles. Luckily, only minor injuries were reported. At the scene of the crash, police apprehended Solsbury.
"That’s above and beyond," Aaron LeBlanc said.
"If we didn’t have a short response time like we had they probably wouldn’t have gotten this guy," store owner Jeff LeBlanc added.
The Napa family-owned business has been open for the last 10 years. They're now trying to comb through the damage and their losses.
"We've never had a problem like this," Jeff LeBlanc said. "There’s a few thousand dollars minimum [gone], but I’m sure it’s going to be more than that."
All of their merchandise that fell onto the road ended up damaged.
The LeBlanc family is crediting the Willimantic Police Department for most of their store staying intact and for locating the thief before he got away.
"The Willimantic police are top-notch, we estimate a four-minute response time," said LeBlanc
Despite the damage, the store opened bright and early like it had been since 2003.
Anyone with information on the Lisbon burglary or the Willimantic burglary is asked to contact police.
Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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