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Police ID Suspects in Custody After Vernon Police Chase Ends in Crash in Somers

Police have identified the two suspects who are in custody after an armed robbery led to a police chase through multiple towns Friday night.

Vernon police said it started when officers responded to an armed robbery at the Verizon Store on Route 83. Lt. William Meier said the suspects, who had handguns, fled in a vehicle headed toward Ellington.

The suspects, later identified as 19-year-old Shakiem Anthony Dessasure, of Chicopee, Mass. and  31-year-old Shane Sturgeon, of Coventry, crashed in Somers and tried to flee on foot, police said. Officers took one suspect into custody at the crash scene. They found the second suspect in a nearby barn after a one hour search.

Two suspects are in custody after an armed robbery led to a police chase through multiple towns Friday night.

Neighbors in the area said they were checking social media for updates and checking their homes for any sign of a fugitive.

"I checked the upper level of the shed, behind all the coolers behind everything, I even checked my boat cover because you never know where they could be hiding you know," said Todd Provencher, who lives in Somers.

According to police, Dessasure has been released from Hartford Hospital and is being held at Vernon Police Department. Sturgeon is still at Hartford Hospital in police custody.

Both men are facing a list of charges including robbery, larceny, threatening, and criminal possession of a firearm, police said. Their bonds are each $1,000,000.

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