Dec. 31 (UPI) — A 20-year-old suspect in the killing of a female co-worker in Maine was arrested more than 1,600 miles away following a brief chase and shootout with Arkansas police.
Spridal Hubiak, of Waterville, Maine, was taken into custody in Flippin, Ark., three days after police discovered the body of 52-year-old Angela Bragg inside the Damon’s Beverage liquor store where the pair worked.
An autopsy on Friday confirmed the victim died as a result of blunt force trauma, leading the Waterville medical examiner to declare Bragg’s Dec. 28 death a homicide.
Days later, police in Flippin, Ark., noticed a suspicious car with Maine license plates in the parking lot of a local business and surprised the sleeping suspect, who cranked up the black Ford Taurus and sped away.
It’s unclear whether police in the small rural town were aware of the Maine case when they chanced upon the sleeping suspect.
The chase ended later on Highway 65 in Boone County when state troopers deployed spike strips that disabled the car.
Unable to drive, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle armed with a rifle, leading police to open fire, authorities said.
Hubiak was wounded in the gunfire and later transported by medical helicopter to a hospital in Green County, Mo., police said in a statement posted to Facebook.
