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A Winooski man is in custody after allegedly committing a series of crimes in Chittenden County over the past two weeks and eluding police for several days.

Robert Bushey. Police photo

Police say Robert Bushey, 45, of Winooski, is suspected of burglarizing multiple stores, stealing a car from a woman as she was sitting in the driver’s seat, and grabbing a purse off another woman’s arm, according to the Burlington Police Department.

Officers with the Colchester Police Department arrested Bushey Sunday afternoon, after receiving a tip that a stolen vehicle was seen in the area. Bushey was asleep in the driver’s seat of the vehicle that had been reported stolen from Winooski, police say.

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On Sunday, police separately apprehended Ian Gardner, who was suspected of leading police in multiple high speed chases.

Bushey suspected of series of thefts

The Burlington Police Department had put out a request for help from the public to locate Bushey on Saturday.

According to police, the series of alleged crimes began late last month. Police say Bushey shattered the front door of a Champlain Farms on North Avenue in Burlington early in the morning Sept. 27 and took “a large quantity of cigarettes.”

Two days later, Bushey allegedly stole a purse off the arm of a 79-year-old woman in Colchester. Police say multiple witnesses saw the theft in the parking lot of McDonald’s on South Park Drive, before Bushey fled the area in a red Chevrolet Impala.

A short time later, police responded to a call of two “suspicious” men removing things from a red Impala, later identified as the same vehicle involved in the robbery, and going into the woods by Manhattan Drive, according to a police press release. Police applied for a search warrant, seized the car, and recovered property related to the robbery.

Police say Bushey’s criminal activity continued later in the week, after a warrant had been issued for his arrest for violating parole.

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On Thursday evening, Bushey allegedly got into the passenger seat of a Subaru Impreza as a woman was sitting in the driver’s seat, waiting for her husband at City Market in downtown Burlington.

Bushey allegedly told the woman he would “kill her,” using an expletive, and yelled at her to leave the car, police say. Though she tried to bring her keys with her, Bushey stopped her from doing so, and, after she got out, he allegedly fled in the car.

About an hour later, police say Bushey arrived at a Shell Station in South Burlington, where he was a familiar customer.

According to the police press release, Bushey told the clerk he was “out for blood,” and jumped over the counter. Police say Bushey “smashed” the register and “ransacked” the store, according to the release. He allegedly stole multiple cartons of cigarettes and fled in the Subaru.

Several hours later, early Friday morning, Bushey allegedly burglarized Chick’s Market in Winooski. Police say he stole cigarettes.

On Friday afternoon, after 3 p.m., an off-duty South Burlington police officer saw the allegedly stolen Subaru and followed it to the Old North End. Burlington officers, with assistance from a canine officer, started searching the area, and the nearby Integrated Arts Academy school was briefly placed on lockdown during the search. However, police didn’t find him.

They did locate the Subaru, and police say that footage from surveillance cameras shows that Bushey was driving the car.

Police say Bushey is also suspected in a number of other recent burglaries in Chittenden and Franklin counties.

Colchester police arrested Bushey Sunday afternoon, after verifying that there was an active warrant out for his arrest from the parole board. He was sleeping in a stolen vehicle at the time police located him, the department said in a release.

He’s being held at Chittenden Regional Correction Facility and is expected to face further charges Monday.

Suspect in high speed chases arrested

Also on Sunday, police arrested Ian Gardner, 32, who is accused of driving a stolen car “in a careless and negligent manner.”

Gardner allegedly led police in multiple high-speed chases.

A tip from the public led Burlington police officers to the North Star Motel in Shelburne. Gardner was seen leaving a motel room. Then, when he saw law enforcement, he allegedly fled into the woods nearby.

Police said in a release that after a pursuit on foot, he was taken into custody.

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This post was updated at 7:41 p.m. with information about Gardner’s arrest.

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