Man accused of dragging Massachusetts state trooper, triggering multistate manhunt arrested: Police
A Vermont man accused of leading Massachusetts police on a high-speed chase, dragging a state trooper and then fleeing into Connecticut was taken into custody Wednesday evening, police said.
Mason Payne, 23, was taken into custody at about 5 p.m. Wednesday at a Stamford, Connecticut, motel following a multistate manhunt, Stamford police said. Police said they found two firearms after searching his room and vehicle.
On Tuesday afternoon, police in Dover, Vermont, said Payne was involved in an armed domestic assault. Later that night, at approximately 10 p.m., he was stopped in Holyoke, Massachusetts, by a state police trooper, officials said in a statement on Wednesday.
During the stop, Payne dragged the trooper several feet with his vehicle before fleeing, according to police. The pursuit ended for safety reasons, police said.
Payne, of Weathersfield, Vermont, was last seen driving an older model black Audi sedan, police said.
During the search, police said Payne should be considered armed and dangerous and said he had made threats to harm law enforcement officers.
