The incident started around 4 p.m. Thursday, June 24, when New York State Police were assisting the Mahwah, New Jersey, Police Department and South Nyack Police Department with a pursuit that entered I-287 and continued south on I-87, said Trooper Tara McCormick.
The fleeing vehicle intentionally caused damage to two troop cars, a South Nyack patrol car, and a Mahwah patrol car, said McCormick.
The driver was stopped on I-287 at mile marker 5.2 in White Plains.
New Haven County resident Henry L. Cofrancesco Jr., age 51, of Hamden, was assessed at the scene by EMS and declined medical treatment, and was arrested.
The passenger of Cofrancesco’s vehicle, Jennifer L. DeJesus, age 45, of New Haven, was transported to White Plains Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
During the course of the investigation, troopers discovered that Cofrancesco was in possession of stolen merchandise, valued over $3,000, from a Petco store in Reardon, New Jersey, and a Petsmart store located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
Cofrancesco was charged with:
- Criminal possession of stolen property
- Criminal mischief
- Reckless endangerment
- Unlawfully fleeing a police officer
He was arraigned before the City of White Plains Court and released on his own recognizance for the State Police charges.
He was held as a fugitive from justice for felony warrants out of Mahwah Police Department and transported to Westchester County Jail pending extradition.
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