MANCHESTER, Conn. — Wednesday was not the first time Lisa French was ordered to court.
“Her conviction history extends back through 1992. Highlights include other larcenies,” Prosecutor Mark Williams said during an arraignment at Superior Court in Manchester.
Prosecutors said French, who is 51, of West Hartford and unemployed, has a shoplifting history dating back to 1992. She was also previously charged with first-degree forgery, second-degree larceny, writing bad checks, and impersonation.
But the reason French was back in court Wednesday could have resulted in tragedy on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Manchester Police spotted a woman fitting the description of a woman accused of stealing from Dick’s Sporting Goods several hours earlier. That woman, a friend of French’s, got into a car French was driving, documents state.
French was in the driver’s seat of a Nissan reported stolen out of Hartford when police sayidshe held her friend inside and drove off while police were trying to take her friend into custody.
“[French] is of limited means, currently unemployed,” a public defender said. “She does have significant substance use as well as some underlying mental health.”
“It was an extremely close call, at best, with one of the officers who was briefly in between two vehicles," Williams added.
Bodycam malfunctioned and was in “system recovery mode,” the warrant states, when “French nearly struck [an officer] and pinned him between another vehicle.”
Police dog Dakota ultimately found French on the third floor of the Hampton Inn & Suites, hiding behind curtains. Her friend was also located there and arrested.
“Ms. French tried to drive away, struck multiple police vehicles. It looks like one civilian vehicle as well,” Williams said.
“She damaged police cars, she took off running, she was caught in the third floor of a hotel running away.," Judge Sheila Prats said.
Police said both women were in possession of crack.
French remains in custody with bail set at $150 thousand. She’s facing a slew of charges, including attempted assault on an officer and first-degree reckless endangerment.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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