ID thief escapes Clarkstown in chase; later arrested by NJ State Police
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Bronx resident Alexis Santiago, 37, was sentenced to prison time after being found guilty on charges of 2nd degree grand larceny, 1st degree identity theft, 2nd degree forgery, 2nd degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, 1st degree attempted assault, and attempted aggravated assault on a police officer.
The charges stem from an incident that started in New City, when Santiago attempted to purchase a $52,000 vehicle from a local dealership using another man’s identity. The NY DMV recognized a discrepancy when the car was registered, and notified the dealer. The dealer in turn notified the Clarkstown Police, who attempted to arrest him when he returned to pick up the car. The arrest didn’t go smoothly, and Santiago attempted to drive into one Clarkstown officer, who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. Clarkstown Police failed to apprehend Santiago, who made it as far as Fort Lee, NJ before being arrested by New Jersey State Police. While being apprehended in New Jersey, he attempted to run over those officers as well.