An hour-long police chase for a man wanted out of Maine for sexual assault ended with the suspect dead after exchanging gunfire with police.
Police said Michael Brown fled from police in a stolen Toyota Tacoma after being recognized in Malden, Massachusetts, on Thursday night. The chase went up Interstate 495 and into New Hampshire.
NBC Boston's Investigators have learned Brown, 40, of Presque Isle, was wanted by Maine police on charges of gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact, unwanted touching and incest.
He allegedly fired shots at state troopers and drove the wrong way on the highway during the two-state pursuit.
Brown crashed his vehicle into a tree in Newton, New Hampshire, before dying in a shootout with police. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the neck and it is believed that he was shot by Massachusetts State Police troopers.
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New Hampshire authorities said a handgun was recovered from Brown's vehicle.
Brown was charged with sexual assault in 2007, but convicted of - among other things - assault and terrorizing, assault and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to just under a year at the Maine Correctional Center.
He had no known connections to Malden.
The investigation is "active and ongoing," according to the attorney general, and more information is expected to be released after Massachusetts State Police are interviewed.
