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The events leading up to the arrests began on Tuesday, July 30 around 3 a.m., when a stolen vehicle was reported to be traveling on Route 101 in Rhode Island and heading towards Windham County, according to Connecticut State Police.
Soon, the vehicle entered the state and crashed in the area of 771 Hartford Pike (Route 101) in Killingly.
Once state troopers arrived at the crash scene, they found an abandoned, damaged, rolled-over vehicle in the westbound lane and learned that the occupants had allegedly run from the crash.
Troopers then enlisted the help of a K9 unit to find the occupants, who were soon tracked down and arrested. They were brought to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam for evaluation, police said.
As troopers continued their investigation, they learned the vehicle, a black 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee, had allegedly been stolen from the Tolland County town of Hebron on Sunday, July 28.
Investigators also learned the Jeep's driver, 18-year-old Hartford County resident Charles Woodall of East Hartford, lost control of the vehicle while approaching a curve, causing it to run off the road, hit trees and an embankment, roll over, and return onto the roadway right side up, according to authorities.
Once they were released from the hospital, all four suspects were charged with interfering with police. In addition to Woodall, the other three suspects were identified as:
- Hartford County resident Santana Rodriguez, age 18, of Manchester;
- New London County resident Adrian Ortega, age 19, of the village of Taftville in Norwich;
- New London County resident Johnathan Beckford, age 19, of Norwich.
The three passengers were held on $10,000 bonds each. Meanwhile, Woodall was held on a $15,000 bond, as he was also charged with reckless driving, larceny of a motor vehicle, and evading responsibility.
The four suspects were arraigned in Danielson Superior Court on Tuesday morning.
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