St. Albans man arrested by US Marshals after eluding police

BURLINGTON — Andrew Brace was arrested yesterday after fleeing police for weeks, according to a July 15 news release from U.S. Marshals.

Police called Brace “extremely dangerous”, after eluding them several times – he had been on the run since his first escape, during which authorities say he dragged a policeman hanging from a stolen car nearly 50 feet away on Conquest Circle in Colchester in late June.

Days later, Brace, a 39-year-old St. Albans resident, again eluded officers after a police chase in Washington, Vt., and last week he was spotted in northwestern Vermont, where he caused problems for local police.

According to state police, Brace nearly caused several traffic accidents and tried to force police vehicles off the road after officers attempted to apprehend him last Tuesday, July 9. By 2 p.m., he had abandoned the vehicle he was driving — a stolen Ford-250 — in Winooski after spending the first half of the day evading police in Swanton, Fairfield, Ga., and St. Albans.

Monday’s arrest follows multiple charges of aggravated assault with a weapon, criminal threats, aggravated operation of a vehicle without the owner’s consent, negligent evasion of law enforcement, leaving the scene of an accident and petty theft. His arrest warrant was issued on July 12.

Brace’s arrest is the culmination of investigative efforts by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Burlington Police Department, Vermont Fish and Game and investigators from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.

According to the Vermont Department of Corrections, Brace is being held at the state’s Northwest Correctional Facility awaiting arraignment. Offender locator website.