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State police arrest two more people following Saturday’s car chase

Chase

The suspect who escaped police custody Saturday and led police on two chases was aided by a Riverhead man who cut her handcuffs off, according to New York State police.

Rasheeda Brown, 30, of Riverhead drove a stolen vehicle to her residence on Mill Road after escaping from police custody at Peconic Bay Medical Center. The owner of the home, Wallace Conklin, 47, managed to cut Ms. Brown’s handcuffs to help her flee police, State police Capt. Bill Hulse said.

Mr. Conklin was charged with fourth-degree criminal facilitation, fifth-degree conspiracy and third-degree hindering prosecution, police said. Another woman who lives in the house, Tanya Brown, 32, was also arrested after police found pocketbooks in her possession from a vehicle Ms. Brown stole during Saturday’s chase, Capt. Hulse said.

She was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and was arraigned in Riverhead Justice Court Monday morning, police said. Mr. Conklin was issued an appearance ticket for Sept. 28.

rasheeda_brownThe pocketbooks were from a Toyota Camry that Ms. Brown stole from the parking lot of T.J. Maxx in Riverhead, Capt. Hulse said.

Ms. Brown faces a slew of charges, all of which haven’t been sorted out yet, Capt. Hulse said. All the evidence will ultimately be turned over to the district attorney so the charges can brought before a grand jury, Capt. Hulse said.

Ms. Brown was arraigned in Southampton Town Justice Court Sunday morning on the original charges from Southampton Town police related to Saturday’s incident and she is being held at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside.

“The investigation is so extensive,” Capt. Hulse said.

Police are still trying to sort through the mounds of evidence recovered at the residence. Ms. Brown was in possession of numerous identification cards, such as bank cards, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club, Capt. Hulse said.

“There’s just so much property that we believe is stolen,” he said.

Police went to the Mill Road home Saturday night. The two suspects initially denied any involvement but police quickly gathered evidence to prove otherwise, Capt. Hulse said.

The ordeal began late Saturday morning when Southampton police received a call of a suspicious vehicle on Old Quogue Road. A police pursuit ensued and Ms. Brown led police westbound on Sunrise Highway, up to Route 111 and onto Long Island Expressway into Riverhead. Police eventually arrested her in the parking lot of Home Depot after she proceeded toward a pedestrian crosswalk. A trooper placed his vehicle in front of the crosswalk to protect the pedestrians, police said.

Ms. Brown failed to stop and struck the police trooper, police said. She was then arrested and transported to PBMC for injuries sustained in the crash. While receiving treatment, she managed to escape custody and forcibly stole the Camry from the parking lot of T.J. Maxx, police said.

State police and Riverhead Town police canvassed the area to try to track down Ms. Brown. A trooper spotted her on Mill Road, police said. A brief pursuit ensued until she struck a Jeep Wrangler that was towing a jet-ski, shutting down Route 58 in both directions for more than an houe. Ms. Brown attempted to forcibly steal the Jeep and was arrested for a second time by officers from both the state police and Riverhead Town police.

Photo caption: The scene of Saturday afternoon’s crash on Route 58. (Credit: Tim Gannon)