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Police chase prompted by a couple of suspected shoplifters at Marketplace Mall in Rochester

By Billie Owens

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A female passenger and the middle-aged male driver of a gray Mercedes involved in a high-speed chase with law enforcement earlier this afternoon after a shoplifting incident at Rochester's Marketplace Mall are both now in Strong Memorial Hospital; she is being evaluated and he has minor injuries. No one else was injured.

The chase began after the pair was suspected of a larceny at the Sears store in the mall on Miracle Mile Drive.

New York State Police Troop A Commander, Major Edward Kennedy, flanked by law enforcement officials from Genesee and Monroe counties, gave a press conference within the last half hour in the middle of Kelsey Road in Batavia about what occurred.

He said the call about the suspected shoplifting came in at 12:27 p.m. The suspects took off and got on Route 390, pursued by Monroe County Sheriff's deputies and troopers from E Barracks. The Mercedes then got on the Thruway and took the Batavia exit; it spun around and the driver lost control of the car, which was surrounded by troopers from A and E barracks and deputies from Genesee and Monroe counties.

At that point, Kennedy said the vehicle exited the Thruway plaza and drove aggressively toward law enforcement; an officer fired shots; the Mercedes collided with a police car. The suspects drove to Park Road, to Veterans Memorial Drive, and made their way to Route 5 before turning north on Kelsey Drive. They headed onto private property, driving down a long driveway before the suspected ditched the car and tried to flee on foot. They were quickly apprehended without further incident. 

A press release with more information will be released at 6 p.m., Kennedy said, noting there are multiple crime scenes involved in this ongoing investigation.

UPDATE 6:26 p.m.: Press release from NYSP:

On Aug. 3 at approximately 12:34 p.m., Troop E Troopers responded to assist Monroe County Sheriff’s Office who were following 1997 Mercedes Benz with switched license plates that was involved in a larceny from Sears at Marketplace Mall in Henrietta. 

At 12:51 p.m. the suspect vehicle fled once emergency lights were activated. This pursuit continued onto the Interstate-90 westbound. The suspect vehicle exited the I-90 at exit 48, Batavia. Patrols attempted to block the suspect vehicle near the toll barrier. The suspect vehicle continued aggressively toward Troopers and as a result a Trooper shot his service weapon at the threat. The pursuit continued until the suspect vehicle turned into a private driveway on Kelsey Road in the Town of Batavia at 1:19 p.m.  The suspect vehicle struck a dirt embankment and came to rest in a wooded area. 

The operator, Andrew Adeb Said, 49 of Port Richey, Fla., and the passenger Tara A. Hackrott, 35, of Williamsville, attempted to flee on foot and were subsequently arrested. Both suspects were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. Andrew Adeb Said had minor injuries and Hackrott was taken for evaluation. 

New York State Police Troop A, E, T, The Bureau of Criminal Investigation, NYSP Collision Reconstruction Unit, NYS DEC, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and the Town of Batavia Fire Department assisted in this investigation.

This is still an ongoing criminal investigation. Criminal charges are pending.

Photos by Howard Owens.

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Major Edward Kennedy, Troop A commander, center, with Capt. Douglas Comanzo, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and Major Eric Laughton, Troop E commander.

Rich Richmond

What were these despicable people thinking? They were shoplifting, and that's bad enough. They get in a high-speed chase down the 390, onto the Thruway, exist the Thruway and try to run down responding law enforcement, etc. They get shot at; justified use of deadly force, don't surrender and then double down on stupid, and keep on going. They put people's lives and their own in jeopardy for the items they shoplifted?

Aug 3, 2018, 8:35pm Permalink
Roberta White

What's even worse than these criminals, is that rather than allowing a thief or two to unfortunately go free, the police decide to cause insane amounts of damage and risk others' lives. Really smart.

Aug 4, 2018, 4:53am Permalink
Thomas Callan

What is worse?? The crimes that were committed? Or,,,,, the liberals who condone it?? The cops didn`t steal anything, OR try to run anyone over with a car?? -- Just keep singing Kum-By-Yah!!

Aug 4, 2018, 10:10am Permalink
C. M. Barons

Why is the default rebuttal to politicize? "(L)iberal judges/parole board will release them anyway," "the liberals who condone (crimes)." The posit by Roberta runs along the lines of the Law of Diminished Returns: the balance between effort and results. Most law enforcement agencies have policies of engagement that regulate pursuit tactics. The point being to minimize the risk to personnel, property and innocent bystanders. One can only guess at the value of any item(s) stolen from Sears. The question posed, was the cost and risk factor of the operation commensurate with the weight of the crime? One might even suggest that the question is a conservative analysis. It's a question of economics. The question does not condone anything. It does, however, resonate with a common theme concerning action versus policy. As for judges, who are statistically more conservative than their fellow members of the bar, ignoring the role of the district attorney in determining penalty is shortsighted. Parole boards are chaired by individuals with significant criminal justice backgrounds, usually former law enforcement.

Aug 5, 2018, 2:07pm Permalink

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