Orange man with suspended license flees police at gas station, drives home, escapes out back, and runs onto Route 2 on-ramps before arrest

ORANGE — On Friday, November 29, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., Lieutenant Adam Cooley of the Orange Police Department received a phone call from Detective Clay Rushford who – at the time – was working in plain clothes in his department issued vehicle.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed personnel narrative of Lt. Cooley, and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“Det. Rushford informed me that he was currently at the Sunoco and observed Mr. Brandon Leblanc to be parked at the gas pumps,” Lt. Cooley said. “The Orange Police Department was all aware that Mr. Leblanc has a suspended driver’s license as he was recently arrested by Officer [Kyle] Johnson, in which Mr. Leblanc failed to stop and took officers on a foot pursuit over a busy highway and through neighborhoods.”

According to police, Brandon J. LeBlanc, 30, is a resident of 42 Eagleville Road, Orange, MA. Court documents indicate he is single and unemployed.

“Officers from the overnight shift were discussing Mr. Leblanc’s license status at shift change this morning as they had believed that they had seen him driving around on their shift,” Lt. Cooley said. Adding, “Det. Rushford assured me that he was certain it was Mr. Leblanc as he watched him get into the blue Nissan pick-up truck. I was positioned on Daniel Shays Highway, a public way in the town of Orange, just North of the gas station. Det. Rushford informed me that Mr. Leblanc had then begun to pull out of the parking lot, at which time I observed the vehicle in question, MA REG [# redacted], pull out onto Daniel Shays Highway.”

Upon spotting LeBlanc’s vehicle, Lt. Cooley activated his blue emergency lights, pulled onto the roadway, and began pursuing LeBlanc.

“Mr. Leblanc was looking at me through his sideview mirror as all of emergency blue lights and sirens were activated,” Lt. Cooley said. “Mr. Leblanc then made a left-hand turn onto Eagleville Road and began to accelerate at a high rate of speed, certainly greater than the 30-mph speed zone for the residential neighborhood.”

Lt. Cooley notified the Shelburne Control 911 Dispatch Center of the failure to stop.

“While traveling down Eagleville Road, we encountered a vehicle which had to pull all the way over to the right as Mr. Leblanc was driving erratically,” Lt. Cooley said. “As we approached Mr. Leblanc’s residence, 42 Eagleville Road, he made a right-hand turn into the driveway and I pulled in directly behind him. As soon as Mr. Leblanc’s vehicle came to rest, the driver’s door opened and Mr. Leblanc exited the vehicle and he began to run for the residence. I exited my cruiser and began to give chase. Mr. Leblanc ran the length of the front porch, but noticed I was gaining on him, so he then reversed direction and headed for the front door. As I continued to give chase, I had to run up a metal ramp to get to the front door, which was covered in ice, I then slipped on the ramp and landed on my left knee. Mr. Leblanc then gained access to the home via the front door and closed and locked it. I immediately got to my feet and began to force the door open as I was still actively pursuing Mr. Leblanc. The door was forced open and Detective Rushford, Sergeant [Jonathan] Cole, Officer [Timothy] Powling, and I cleared the home and were unable to locate Mr. Leblanc.”

When they couldn’t locate LeBlanc inside his home, the officers began to canvas the area. Lt. Cooley reported that within a few minutes, Det. Rushford spotted LeBlanc, now without his sweatshirt and dressed only in a t-shirt and pants, in the back of the Honey Farms parking lot, which was a few hundred yards away from his residence.

“Det. Rushford observed Mr. Leblanc to be jumping fences and eventually getting onto the Route 2 on ramps,” Lt. Cooley said. “All officers began to converge on the area and Mr. Leblanc continued to run, hopping fences, ultimately injuring his right hand, and catching his shirt on one of the fences, causing it to be ripped off. Officers were able to create a rapid perimeter around the area and Sgt. Cole and Ofc. Powling were able to close in on Mr. Leblanc and order him to the ground.”

LeBlanc was then taken into custody, escorted out of the woods, and secured in the rear of a cruiser. Lt. Cooley noted that LeBlanc was caught directly behind a house on Eagleville Road and the commotion prompted a resident of the home to run outside and ask Sgt. Cole what was going on and why there were police running through the yards on the road.

Lt. Cooley reported that during transport to the Orange Police Station for booking, LeBlanc complained of the injury to his right hand. Consequently, Officer Powling contacted the Orange Fire Department to request their presence at the station to evaluate the injury.

“Mr. Leblanc ultimately wanted to go the hospital to be evaluated and Orange Fire subsequently transported Mr. Leblanc to Athol Hospital,” Lt. Cooley said.

Before he was transported to the hospital, Officer Powling searched LeBlanc’s person and possessions and located two small glass pipes in his wallet with a white residue on them, which Lt. Cooley identified as most likely crack cocaine, based on his training and experience. Additionally, several white waxy paper folds bearing a blue ink stamp, typical of heroin packaging, were also found in LeBlanc’s wallet.

LeBlanc was charged with the following:

1. Speeding
2. Failure to Stop for Police
3. Operating Motor Vehicle with License Suspended (Subsequent Offense)
4. Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle
5. Resisting Arrest
6. Disorderly Conduct
7. Disturbing the Peace
8. Possession of Class B Drug

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from November, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

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