MANCHESTER, N.H. (WHDH) – A Brentwood, New Hampshire man is facing several charges after police said he started a multi-town crime spree by crashing a stolen car Tuesday morning before carjacking a mother and daughter from another car in Manchester.
Anthony Plourde, 22, is accused of stealing a car from a woman on Flaherty Lane at around 9:15 a.m. as she was warming it up outside her house. The woman, 74-year-old Doreen Betts, told police he was wielding a wooden stake.
“I was in the gate, 2 feet, when this idiot flies around the corner, running like the dickens, flung the shovel in the parking area, jumped into my car, shoved it into reverse, shot off and off he went,” said Betts. She said she is now taking personal safety into her own hands and told 7News she is keeping a World War I bayonet with her at home.
A few minutes later, Manchester police said they found the stolen vehicle smashed into a window treatment store at South Main and Blaine streets. A witness told police they saw the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed before it lost control and crashed.
“It didn’t seem like it was in a space where weather or anything like that would have played into it,” said Kriss Blevens. “I immediately thought maybe somebody was still partying from Christmas.”
Police said Plourde ditched the banged-up car. When he allegedly failed to gain control of another vehicle in traffic, police said he instead carjacked a mother and her 12-year-old daughter in a nearby Walgreen’s parking lot, according to police.
Police said Plourde fled the city in the stolen vehicle. He allegedly struck another vehicle in Derry and continued into Hudson, where he allegedly hit two more cars on Central Street and Greeley Street.
Officers in Hudson said they found a vehicle in a snowbank near Central Street and Belknap Road. DPW workers said they spotted Plourde running from the disabled vehicle and alerted police.
“He ended up hitting the snowbank. He got out of the car and looked a little flustered,” said Matthew Darby.
Officers were able to track down Plourde a short while later near a Cumberland Farms, according to Hudson police. He was taken into custody.
“He was very animated,” said Hudson Police Lt. Tad Dionne. “We believe that he may have been impaired on a substance as well.”
Plourde was charged with receiving stolen property, reckless conduct and driving while intoxicated, among several other violations. He is also facing several charges in Manchester, including motor vehicle theft.
Plourde is being held at the Hudson Police Department. He is due in court in Nashua on Wednesday.
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