A Bristol man was arrested after leading a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy on a high-speed chase through South Bristol and Bristol late Sunday, Aug. 3.
Joseph A. Benner, 33, faces class C charges of aggravated criminal mischief and eluding an officer, both felonies; and class D charges of domestic violence assault and domestic violence terrorizing, both misdemeanors.
Lt. Rand Maker, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies were on the lookout for Benner after responding to a domestic violence call on Austin Road in Bristol.
Benner, during an argument with his estranged wife, allegedly “tackled her to the ground,” Maker said.
“The suspect had fled,” Maker said. Deputy Jared Mitkus located Benner’s GMC Yukon on the Harrington Road in South Bristol at about 10:15 p.m.
“We signaled for him to stop and he didn’t,” Maker said.
Mitkus, in a Ford Police Interceptor SUV, pursued Benner along the Harrington Road into Bristol and onto Bristol Road (Route 130), Foster Road, and Elliott Hill Road, where “we discontinued the chase for safety reasons,” Maker said.
“He was driving too recklessly at that point,” Maker said.
The top speed during the approximately 6-mile pursuit was 80 mph, Maker said.
Mitkus later located Benner in a vehicle behind his Austin Road residence and took him into custody without incident, Maker said.
As of 12:45 p.m. Monday, Benner remains in custody at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, where he is being held without bail.
