ROCKLAND — A man from Nobleboro who was arrested for leading police on two high-speed chases, one while driving at more than 100 miles per hour with two young children in the vehicle, was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Henry Thompson III, 33, was sentenced Sept. 9 in Knox County Unified Court. He was sentenced for failing to stop for an officer, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, attaching false plates, refusing to submit to arrest, operating while license was suspended or revoked, driving to endanger and violating a condition of release that all occurred on May 18 in Warren.

For the driving to endanger conviction, Thompson’s sentence also included a $575 fine and a 30-day license suspension. 

Additionally, Thompson was sentenced Sept. 9 for a second chase that occurred on April 15 in Warren. He was convicted of eluding an officer, failing to stop for an officer, driving to endanger, motor vehicle speeding more than 30 miles per hour over the speed limit, failure to register vehicle and violating a condition of release. 

He received a concurrent six month sentence for failing to stop for an officer on Oct. 15, 2018, in Friendship.

According to the affidavit filed in court by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, police arrested Thompson May 18 for traveling for than 100 miles per hour along Route 1 with two young children in the car.

He was already free on bail after he was arrested April 22 for the high-speed chase on April 15 that police say began in Waldoboro and ended in Warren.

One of his bail conditions from the April arrest was that he “must stop for law enforcement upon signal to do so.”

Police received a report at approximately 7:40 p.m. on May 18 that Waldoboro police had been engaged in a pursuit on Route 1 that was heading toward Warren.

Officers attempted to stop Thompson, who they say was operating erratically and speeding, but he refused and sped off with two young children inside the vehicle, the report said. The officers then ended the chase due to the risk with the child passengers and safety of other drivers on the road.

Thompson turned onto Route 90 from Route 1 and again was not chased by police because of the risk to the children, according to the affidavit.  

The ages of the children were later confirmed to be six and seven years old and they were not properly secured in the vehicle, according to the police report.

Thompson then traveled along Route 131 and stopped the vehicle along the road but sped off after police tried to get him out of the vehicle, the report said. The vehicle finally stopped on Route 17 prior to entering Route 220 in Washington. Police had to break the window on the driver’s side to remove Thompson from the vehicle.

While he was in the police cruiser on the way to jail, Thompson said that he should have stopped and did not know why he kept making the same mistakes, according to the affidavit.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com