Mt. Holly woman arrested after chase, manhunt Led troopers on high speed pursuit through five towns in stolen car

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing, LLC

A Mount Holly woman has been arrested after Vermont State Police say she lead them on a high speed chase through Weathersfield, North Springfield, Chester, Cavendish and Ludlow Wednesday morning in a stolen car.

According to radio transmissions, troopers eventually broke off the pursuit for the sake of public safety in Ludlow, where she was captured later in the afternoon.

According to a Vermont State Police press release, at about 8 a.m., a passing motorist told troopers that a woman was sleeping in a car on John Jensen Road in Weathersfield. Checking on the tip, they found Jennifer Graham, 38, in a 2018 white Buick Regal with New Hampshire plates that were not assigned to it.

They later learned the car had been stolen from Springfield Auto Mart. The woman driver allegedly lied to police about her identity and, when the trooper was returning to her from his cruiser, she started the car and took off.

According to scanner traffic at the time, the woman was driving at speeds of up to 100 mph as she wound through North Springfield before heading west on Rt. 10 toward Chester, again at high speed, although the trooper reported that traffic on the road was “non-existent” at the time.

The driver turned right on Chandler Road and right again on Amsden Hill Road before re-entering Rt. 10 at about 8:10 a.m. heading toward Route 103 in Chester and again reaching 100 mph. The trooper pursuing the car reported that it was being driven erratically and on the opposite side of the road.

As the pursuit reached the intersection of Routes 103 and 10 in Gassetts, the driver turned north toward Cavendish and a road construction zone where, at 8:16 a.m., the trooper reported he hoped to box in the Buick but to no avail.

At 8:17 a.m., the trooper reported that they were approaching Ludlow and that he was breaking off the chase because the woman driving the Buick had “almost killed several people.”  A minute later, the trooper told dispatchers that the car “blew through” the red light in Ludlow and he had lost sight of it. A passing motorist told the trooper the car had turned onto Andover Street.

Just before noon, troopers got word that the subject was in the Ludlow area, perhaps hiding in a car behind Village Pizza. There were also sightings of her at the end of Mill Street and in the mobile home park across from Black River High School.

Law enforcement resources including Ludlow Police, Chester Police, DMV Enforcement Division, Game Wardens and the Vermont State Police descended upon the area to search for the driver, who was located and arrested, without further incident.

Jennifer Graham was charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property, aggravated operation without owner’s consent, operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs, false reports to law enforcement, eluding a police officer (felony), grossly negligent operation (felony), excessive speed (misdemeanor) and violation of conditions of release. She is being held on $25,000 bail and will be arraigned this afternoon in Windsor County Superior Court Criminal Division.