NAUGATUCK — Police have arrested a Waterbury man who they say fled from a traffic stop in July in a stolen car.
Officers attempted to stop a red Honda CRV leaving Walmart on New Haven Road at about 1:43 a.m. July 18 after learning it was stolen out of New Britain, police said.
The vehicle sped away from officers and eluded their attempts to stop it, police said. An investigation produced a photo of the driver in the stolen vehicle and police identified him as Michael McCann-Ortiz, 19, of 362 Washington Ave., Waterbury, and issued a warrant for his arrest, police said.
Police in Westchester County, New York, arrested McCann-Ortiz in August when he crashed a stolen vehicle there, Naugatuck police said. Working with Westchester police, McCann-Ortiz was brought back to Connecticut by Naugatuck detectives on Dec. 12.
McCann-Ortiz was charged with third-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, reckless endangerment, engaging police in pursuit, reckless driving, failure to drive in the proper lane, failure to obey a standard traffic control sign and failure to give proper signal. He was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear at Waterbury Superior Court on Dec. 24.
Naugatuck police Officer Shelby Johnson investigated the incident.
