An upstate New York man was arrested three times for three separate incidents that allegedly occurred between Monday afternoon and early Wednesday morning this week, authorities said.
Michael Sprague, of New Hartford, faces over a dozen charges after incidents that took place over a span of approximately 37 hours in Oneida County, according to the New Hartford Police Department and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.
The 56-year-old suspect is accused of pointing a fake handgun at a person and fleeing from law enforcement in New Hartford, and being found with stolen property in the neighboring City of Rome.
According to the New Hartford Police Department, Sprague’s alleged crime spree began Monday around 4 p.m. A person driving a vehicle told police a white male in a white pickup truck pointed “what appeared to be a black handgun at the victim and his passenger.”
That person, later identified as Sprague, was taken into custody and charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. He was processed and released on appearance tickets to answer the charges at a later date.
On Wednesday around 1 a.m., police encountered Sprague again in New Hartford and attempted to pull him over for traffic violations, but he sped away and the pursuit was called off for safety reasons.
About four hours later, when Sprague crashed his 2024 Chevy Colorado into a snowbank in Rome, police learned he was towing a camper that had been stolen in Utica.
After deputies charged Sprague with one possession of stolen property and issued him six traffic tickets, he was turned over to the New Hartford Town Police Department, when he was hit with 16 other charges stemming from the earlier incident.
Sprague is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 23, officials said.
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