A man and woman being sought for days over a series of armed carjackings in Salem and Alton, New Hampshire, have been arrested after a dayslong search in the Granite State and Massachusetts, police said Thursday morning.
Authorities in both states had been looking for 35-year-old Nathan Saben, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and 40-year-old Jessica Tirone, of Salisbury, Massachusetts. They were arrested in Dracut in a stolen Subaru Outback, state troopers said, after Salem, New Hampshire, police announced they were apprehended.
Video taken by a witness shows the capture of Saben in the middle of the street. In the video Saben is seen moving toward another vehicle, apparently attempting another carjacking, before police tackle him to the ground.
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The arrest came after a police chase that started in Lawrence, according to the Lawrence police department, went through Methuen and ended when Saben lost control of the SUV in Dracut. The car they were in was allegedly stolen and both requested to be brought to a hospital. Police didn't immediately have information on when Saben and Tirone, who were at Lowell General Hospital, would be brought to court, and it wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys.
Saben and Tirone stole two cars at gunpoint and tried to steal two others, police have said. They were considered armed and dangerous.
Kyle Drayer was working on a home in the area when he heard sirens approach, then saw a man with an AR rifle get out of a car and run down the street, followed by police officers, Drayer said.
"Then things got a little silent and nerve-wracking and then they got him, luckily," he said, calling the arrest "one of the craziest things I've ever seen."
Victims said Saben was carrying an AR-15 style rifle during the series of carjackings and attempted carjackings on Tuesday and Wednesday in two New Hampshire communities.
Saben was first encountered by police early Friday morning in Seabrook, New Hampshire, after officers were called for a man in a car apparently under the influence of drugs, Seabrook police said Thursday. Saben allegedly sped off into Salisbury, Massachusetts, after an officer approached the car and saw what were believed to be drugs and tried to detain Saben.
Then, around 10 p.m. Tuesday, police in Haverhill reported they were following a white Kia on Route 97 west heading toward Salem. It's not clear why they started following the vehicle, but they terminated their pursuit once it crossed into New Hampshire.
Moments later, police dispatchers in Salem, New Hampshire, began receiving calls for attempted carjackings by a man and a woman armed with a rifle and driving a white car. Two attempted carjackings were reported on Route 97, but in both cases the victims were able to escape with their vehicles.
A third carjacking attempt was reported at the intersection of Route 97 and Geremonty Drive. In this case, a young woman driving a black Toyota Camry was blocked in by a white Kia. The woman was forced out of her car at gunpoint and her car was stolen. She was not injured, police said.
The pair abandoned the white Kia sedan in the middle of the Route 97 intersection. It had the same Massachusetts registration as the vehicle that had been pursued by Haverhill police.
The following morning at 9:30, another armed carjacking was reported about 60 miles north in Alton. Police said a couple matching the description of the suspects in the Salem carjacking stole a black Subaru Outback with New Hampshire license plate number 1182064 from an elderly man.
As they drove off, an open door of the vehicle hit the vehicle's owner, knocking him down. He was taken to a local hospital and the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.
The Camry was later located on the side of Old Wolfeboro Road a short distance from the crime scene and was impounded for further investigation.
"In all these situations, these individuals attempted to block the victim in and then approach them with a firearm," Salem police Capt. Jason Smith said. "These are things that, yes, they are scary, and these people need to be stopped."
Police had said the search for the man and woman expanded to the entire New Hampshire Lakes Region.
