On Thursday, 10/24/24 at approximately 10:30 PM, a Trooper assigned to Troop K- Colchester was conducting proactive speed enforcement on Route 2 eastbound in Marlborough. It was at this time that the Trooper observed a vehicle traveling at a rate of speed clearly higher than the posted speed limit of 65 mph. The Trooper clocked the vehicle's speed at 88 mph utilizing their assigned laser unit.
As the Trooper attempted to catch up to the observed vehicle, they approached another vehicle traveling in the right lane. As the Trooper attempted to pass this vehicle in efforts to locate the previously clocked vehicle, the operator of this vehicle suddenly veered into the left lane ahead of the Trooper and applied their brakes, causing the Trooper to quickly brake in order to avoid a collision. The Trooper's attention shifted to this vehicle and initiated their lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop.
The operator of this vehicle complied with the Trooper's signal to stop and pulled over in the right shoulder. Once the Trooper made contact with the operator, the operator apologized and explained his actions were because he thought the Trooper's high beams were on and did not realize it was a State Police cruiser attempting to pass him. The Trooper explained to the operator that such a deliberate maneuver was reckless in nature and requested his license. The operator explained that he did not have his license on him and provided his name and date of birth. The Trooper ran the name and date of birth provided by the operator, which displayed a DMV photo of his likeness. The Trooper also observed that the license which came back to the name and date of birth as provided by the operator was suspended.
Upon addressing the suspended license status with the operator, further investigation determined that the operator had provided the name and date of birth of an immediate family member to avoid detection as he believed he was the subject of an active arrest warrant. The operator was positively identified as Brian Mazzella (DOB 09/20/89), of Waterford. No active arrest warrants were located for Mazzella.
Mazzella was subsequently arrested without incident and transported to Troop K, where he was processed on the following charges:
CGS 14-222; Reckless Driving
CGS 14-236; Failure to Maintain Proper Lane- Limited Access Highway
CGS 53a-130; Criminal Impersonation
CGS 53a-167a; Interfering with an Officer/Resisting
Mazzella was later released from custody on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on 11/15/24. Please see the attached criminal information summary.
