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New Haven County resident Dakotah Chiodo. age 22, of Wallingford, was arrested on Wednesday, June 21 after state police tracked him to his home.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m., Wednesday when a state police aggressive driving team spotted two vehicles on Route 15 in the town of Wallingford approaching one of the troopers from behind as he drove in the left lane, state police said.
Troopers said the vehicles appeared to be racing one another and traveling at speeds in excess of 90 mph while weaving through traffic and cutting off other vehicles.
A trooper positioned himself behind the lead vehicle driven by Chiodo and activated his emergency lights/siren. Instead of stopping, Chiodo accelerated at reckless speeds and continued to cut off other vehicles, in an apparent effort to elude the motor vehicle stop, state police said.
The trooper terminated the pursuit due to the danger to other drivers. The vehicle traveling behind the lead vehicle was successfully pulled over and enforcement action was taken.
During an investigation, troopers were able to identify Chiodo and responded to his address in Wallingford where they found him standing outside of the vehicle with the hood up.
State police said Chiodo acknowledged that he was the same person who minutes prior had attempted to engage troopers in pursuit.
While being arrested, troopers spotted a knife in plain view, positioned between the driver’s seat and the center console passenger compartment of Chiodo’s vehicle, troopers reported.
Chiodo explained that he carried the knife with him for protection, state police said. Upon examining the knife, troopers determined that the length of the blade exceeded 4 inches, and it was secured and seized as evidence.
He was charged with:
- Weapon in motor vehicle
- Reckless endangerment
- Failure to obey signal/engaging trooper in a pursuit
- Reckless driving
Chiodo was released on a $5,000 cash/surety bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Meriden Superior Court, on Wednesday, July 19.
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