ROCKLAND, Maine — Police say a Portland man accused of abducting a Rockland woman off the street and then leading police on a chase has a violent record.
Shane Hall, 29, of Portland was charged with kidnapping and eluding a police officer, according to Deputy Rockland Police Chief Christopher Young. Hall was taken to the Knox County Jail in Rockland and is being held without bail. More charges are likely, the deputy chief said.
The incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, when the woman was walking home from work on Main Street near the intersection with Cedar Street, according to Young. The man, wearing a ski mask, stopped his car, grabbed the woman, put her in a chokehold and she passed out, police said.
As Hall drove away, Rockland police Sgt. Matthew Lindahl spotted the car driving erratically and tried to stop it, but he sped away, Young said. During the chase, the victim regained consciousness and called 911 with her cellphone, reporting that she had been kidnapped and the man was trying to kill her. But because of the rapid pace of the developments, the officers were unaware of the kidnapping when they were pursuing the vehicle.
The chase ended a few minutes later on Pleasant Street when the car with Hall and the woman crashed on a curve by Luce Avenue while she was fighting him. When the car crashed, Hall attempted to run away, but Officers Alex Gaylor and Addison Cox had arrived and captured him after a short chase on foot.
Rockland police Officer Jacob Shirey had been in position on Route 1 with spike mats if the car had gotten that far, Young said.
The woman does not know Hall, Young said, saying it was a random stranger abduction.
The woman was taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport to be checked on as a precautionary measure, Young said. Hall was not injured in the crash.
The woman’s wallet and keys were found at the site of the abduction, police said.
The deputy chief said he cannot recall another stranger abduction in Rockland.
Hall did not speak to officers when he was caught and immediately asked to speak to an attorney.
Hall is scheduled to make his initial appearance Friday afternoon in Knox County Unified Court.
According to Hall’s criminal record in Maine, a copy of which was obtained Thursday from the Maine Bureau of Identification, he was arrested in 2008 in Cumberland County for robbery and assault. He was convicted the following year for that incident on the lesser charges of theft and assault and was sentenced to serve six months in the county jail.
He received an additional four days in jail for a theft in 2008. In 2010, he received a 48-hour jail sentence for carrying a concealed weapon. In 2011, he was sentenced to nine months in jail for burglary and theft. The following year, he served seven days for theft.
In 2013 he was sentenced to three years in prison for an aggravated assault that occurred in Portland in May 2012.
Young said it was fortunate that an officer came upon the vehicle when he did but also said that all officers acted “flawlessly” in the pursuit and capture of Hall.