Pittsfield — The Pittsfield Police Department arrested a suspect on Friday, September 27, who was involved in a murder that took place in Bangor, Maine.
According to a press release written by Police Department Lieutenant John Soules, on Wednesday, September 25, officers with the Bangor Police Department discovered the body of Virginia Cookson, 39, at a residence.
A post-mortem examination conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Maine, determined the manner of death to be a homicide.
After an investigation by the Bangor Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, in conjunction with the State of Maine Office of the Attorney General, an arrest warrant was issued for Richard Keith Thorpe, 42, of Bangor, Maine.
On September 27 before 4 a.m., Pittsfield Police Department officers responded to a single motor-vehicle crash near the intersection of West Street and Onota Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered in the unoccupied vehicle items that led them to believe the operator was Thorpe.
Officers in the area searched for the driver of the vehicle but were unable to locate the person.
At around 7 a.m. on September 27, Pittsfield police officers responded to a report of a stolen motor vehicle on West Housatonic Street. The vehicle was located at 8:30 a.m., and the driver led officers on a chase that included areas of West Street and intersecting streets. The driver crossed the center divider, passed cars in a no-passing zone, and failed to stop for police.
According to the department, the driver led the pursuit past Crosby Elementary on 517 West Street, but no school bus operations were active during the vehicle pursuit.
The vehicle eventually stopped in the area of Euclid Avenue after making contact with a police vehicle. No significant injuries were reported, and the operator of the stolen vehicle was positively identified as Thorpe, who was taken into custody without incident.
Thorpe was charged with numerous motor-vehicle offenses and a Maine arrest warrant for murder. He will be arraigned at Pittsfield District Court. However, the press release did not list a date for his arraignment.
As a precaution during the motor-vehicle pursuit, all local schools were asked to shelter in place.
Neither Thorpe nor Cookson have any known connections to Pittsfield.
