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Suspect who allegedly kidnapped woman in Hazleton captured after 3-state crime spree
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Luis Figueroa
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A police cruiser ended up on an abutment on the George Washington Bridge after a cop tried to stop a maniac wanted for kidnapping a woman and attacking a car dealer.
A three-state manhunt Friday for a maniac with a machete ended on the George Washington Bridge, authorities said.

Three Port Authority cops were hospitalized after alleged kidnapper Luis Figueroa, 33, crashed through a roadblock set up for him on the Hudson River span around noon.

“This guy was on a crime spree,” a law enforcement source said.

The carnage began 130 miles away when Figueroa allegedly tried to kidnap a pregnant woman around 8 a.m. in Hazleton, Pa., then grabbed a second woman and threw her into his car, according to the Standard Speaker newspaper. The woman escaped Figueroa’s clutches when he carjacked a minivan from a park ranger in the Poconos, authorities said.
Figueroa continued eastward to Paterson, N.J., where he attacked a Cadillac dealer — identified by police sources as his cousin — with a machete when he wasn’t allowed to trade in the stolen vehicle. He then tried to set the dealership on fire, according to authorities.

He stole a Cadillac Escalade and plowed it through two police cruisers on the bridge, then hit a median on an exit ramp near W. 179th St., officials said. He tried to run off, but Port Authority cops chased him down.
Figueroa was taken to New York Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Medical Center for treatment. Charges were pending Friday evening.

None of his victims — including the three cops — was seriously injured, authorities said.

This is not the first time Figueroa was arrested on the George Washington Bridge. Cops charged him with drunken driving on the New Jersey side in November, according to officials.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ruisers-chase-article-1.1820085#ixzz33z3yGMKC
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A manhunt ended on the Manhattan side of the George Washington Bridge Friday when a Cadillac Escalade the suspect stole crashed into a Port Authority police cruiser and slammed into the side of the exit ramp.
A suspect in a Hazleton kidnapping was taken into custody Friday afternoon after leading police on a manhunt that encompassed three states.

Hazleton police Chief Frank DeAndrea said Luis Figueroa, 33, was captured in New York City after he crashed a stolen vehicle into a roadblock police set for him on the George Washington Bridge.

By that point, Figueroa had kidnapped a woman in Hazleton, stolen two vehicles, assaulted a park ranger and car salesman, and set fire to a New Jersey car dealership.

"For some reason, this man snapped today," DeAndrea said
[...]
DeAndrea said the incident began at 8:20 a.m. Friday when a "scantily clothed" pregnant woman begged a Hazleton Area School District bus driver for help as Figueroa attempted to abduct her from a home at 149 N. Church St.

"She was beating on the door requesting that the bus driver open the doors to the bus," DeAndrea said. "The bus was full of students. As the bus driver was trying to figure out what to do, she looked up again to see Mr. Figueroa racing out of the house, bloody, carrying a shotgun."

For the students' safety, the bus driver didn't open the door. She reported the incident to police and school officials.

As the pregnant woman fled, Figueroa dragged another adult female from the home, forced her into his vehicle and left the city
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Police arrived minutes later and found two children inside the home.

"At this point we were unable to determine whose children these were - all we knew was we did confirm that there was a man with a gun and that he might go to one of the schools thinking that the kids got on the bus, went to the school and we needed to make sure that we kept these students safe,"
[...]
As a result, he said, Hazleton Area School District schools in the city and West Hazleton were placed on lockdown.

DeAndrea said the pregnant woman was "apparently struck" and was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for treatment of her injuries.
[...]
The children were unharmed and placed in protective custody.

Figueroa, who had a protection from abuse order from one of the women, drove east on Interstate 80 with the kidnapped woman
[...]
Later in the morning, he stole an off-duty National Park Service ranger's vehicle near the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area,
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While he didn't have details on the incident, the Pocono Record reported that a park visitors' center was temporarily closed as rangers and state police from Pennsylvania and New Jersey investigated an assault and carjacking. A park employee was assaulted and taken to the hospital,
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"At that point, the female that he abducted escaped," DeAndrea said. "The information is sketchy but I believe that due to her injuries from Mr. Figueroa, she has now been life-flighted to another emergency treatment center."
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New Jersey State Police say they received a 911 call at 9:43 a.m. from a woman who had escaped from the vehicle when Figueroa pulled into the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. The woman managed to phone for help at the Knowlton Township Post Office,
[...]
Figueroa assaulted a parks worker at the visitor center and then stole the employee's 2005 red Dodge Caravan. State police recovered a shotgun in the area of the visitor center, Flynn said, but he could not say whether the suspect used it in the assault.

Figueroa continued on to Paterson, New Jersey, where he attempted to trade in the park ranger's vehicle for a Cadillac Escalade.

"An argument ensued with the car dealership dealer. (Figueroa) beat the dealer, set the dealership on fire, attempted to burn the car dealer himself" before fleeing in the stolen Escalade
[...]
New Jersey State Police, along with a state police helicopter, pursued Figueroa as he traveled toward New York City.

"Mr. Figueroa gets on the George Washington Bridge in an attempt to get into New York City. Port Authority police and New York State Police had set up a roadblock. Mr. Figueroa crashes the stolen Cadillac Escalade into the roadblock,
[...]
he crashed the vehicle into a police cruiser at a toll plaza, led officers on a chase across the bridge and crashed into another patrol car in upper Manhattan. At that point, he was taken into custody by New York State Police.

Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said three police officers suffered lacerations and contusions and were taken for medical treatment. He said the injuries were not life-threatening.

Figueroa had serious burns and was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.

"There was no fire on the bridge,"
[...]
As of Friday afternoon, Hazleton officers were still at the North Church Street home, where crime scene tape spanned from Holly to Magnolia streets.

DeAndrea hinted that the situation could have been worse.

"I can guarantee you one thing: had that bus driver opened that door this would be a much different press conference. There's no doubt in my mind that he would have captive students, a driver and a female on that bus, and that bus would have stuck out like a sore thumb, and when that roadblock took place - him with the shotgun in a bus - it would not have been the same ending," DeAndrea said. "I truly believe that the school bus driver is a heroine."
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"They provide tremendous training for our teachers and our working staff. This is just one example how that training, in critical situations pays huge dividends - and in fact, possibly saves lives,"
[...]
Antonelli said the bus driver would be recognized for her actions. He also said that the two students on the bus had met with a school guidance counselor.

Luzerne County District Attorney Stephanie Salavantis praised the quick response from law enforcement officials.

"We're dealing with three different states at this point that provided assistance to the situation," she said.
http://standardspeaker.com/news/sus...-captured-after-3-state-crime-spree-1.1699331
 
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