Man arrested in Monmouth after chase and manhunt

A Waterville man was arrested Thursday after a high-speed chase and hours-long manhunt after he fled on foot and was eventually tracked down by police with the help of two police dogs, a drone equipped with a thermal imaging detector and a game camera that photographed him on running, as well as numerous tips from residents who reported on his travels.

Nicholas DeRosby, 28, was eventually found hiding under leaves next to a pond on North Main Street in North Monmouth, near Tex Tech Industry. Police found Derosby there after local residents reported him.

Police used the Monmouth Police Facebook page to post a photo of the suspect taken on a resident’s game camera, and residents responded by reporting seeing him pass through their yards in different parts of the city.

Police warned the public out of concern that DeRosby might try to break into homes or steal a car in the area.

“I posted something on Facebook and we started getting calls, people had seen him in the area, so we continued to keep an eye on it,” Monmouth Lt. Dana Wessling said. “We were everywhere. We were very concerned and the citizens really did a fantastic job of helping us start to pin it down to one area.”

Wessling said that a couple of days ago, a Winthrop officer noticed a car that was passing poorly and driving erratically, but by the time the officer turned around to pursue him, the car had already accelerated. Police checked the license plate and found the vehicle had an expired registration. They said the owner listed did not appear to be the one driving the car that day, but they suspected it may have been the owner’s son, Derosby.

Around 11 a.m. Thursday, police received reports that the same vehicle was traveling on U.S. Highway 202 from Winthrop toward Monmouth, again making improper passes and speeding. The Winthrop officer tried to catch up with the car, but Wessling came upon it on US-202 and turned around to pursue it.

“I turned it around and it took off at high speed, it went like a rocket through 202 passing cars, driving in the emergency lane …,” Wessling said.

The speed approached 111 mph and the car turned onto Back Street, a side road, traveling at approximately 90 mph. Wessling said he slowed down to put some distance between his cruiser and the car but still followed her. He said that on Old Lewiston Road, the driver of the car went down a hill in the road and apparently damaged the vehicle, allowing Wessling to catch up with him. The driver got out and fled on foot, passing a residential building and running through a field.

A female passenger who police said was with DeRosby was taken into custody but later released without charges.

Police believed the driver was DeRosby, who Wessling said was on probation and had a revoked driver’s license.

He remained on the run for several hours, even as police had tracking dogs from the Androscoggin and Kennebec County Sheriff’s Offices assisting in the search. Police also used a drone that shows thermal images indicating where a person might be below.

DeRosby was arrested Thursday night on charges of fleeing a police officer, driving under threat, violating conditions of release, refusing to submit to arrest or detention, operating after revocation and operating with a suspended registration.

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