NORTHAMPTON — A Chicopee man accused of stealing a car in Northampton and crashing it after a high-speed chase through downtown streets last weekend was ordered held on bail after his arraignment Monday.
Northampton District Court records show Adrian Bonilla, 21, was held on $2,500 cash bail or $25,000 surety and ordered to return to court on June 16.
Bonilla is charged with a litany of offenses including receiving a stolen motor vehicle, reckless operation, driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and forgery of a check.
On Saturday at around 4:15 p.m., a homeowner on Harrison Avenue reported that his car was stolen from his driveway. He told police that, 30 to 45 minutes earlier, a man had knocked on his door, then come inside to demand the return of a cellphone; the man stole his car keys and handled his checkbook before leaving with a male companion who had stayed outside, according to a police report.
Officer Timothy Zantrofski was driving south on King Street when he saw the stolen car pass him, police reported in a weekend Facebook post. He turned around and tried to stop the car, but the driver, later identified as Bonilla, accelerated and turned right onto Edwards Square, then took turns onto North and Market streets and ran several stop signs.
A speeding citation included in court records alleges that Bonilla’s speed reached 60 mph.
The officer lost sight of the car but soon found it crashed into a retaining wall at the intersection of Hawley and Holyoke streets, police said. Bonilla allegedly led Zantrofski on a foot chase through the backyard of a residence, refusing to comply with orders to stop, before jumping over a fence and hiding in some bushes.
A bystander pointed out Bonilla to Zantrofski. He was handcuffed and taken into custody without further incident, police said; a toxicology screen performed at Cooley Dickinson Hospital allegedly found marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and oxycodone in his system.
Bonilla was found in possession of one of the victim’s checks, made out to himself for $1,150, and the victim said it had been forged, according to the police report. Bonilla told investigators he had stolen the car under the orders of three men who threatened his family, but police said they found no evidence to support that claim.
Police sought a search warrant to inspect Bonilla’s phone for “evidence of other crimes” that are the subject of multiple ongoing investigations. Bonilla allegedly told police that one of his associates had recently broken into the car theft victim’s home and stolen from him.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.