By Jim Clark

Police were summoned to the Kmart store on Middlesex Ave. last Saturday on reports of a couple leaving the store with a shopping cart full of merchandise without paying for it.

While the report was being phoned in, officers were told by store security personnel that they had witnessed a male and a female push a bag of stolen merchandise out of the store in the shopping cart.

The store staff reportedly watched the couple via the store’s closed circuit television video surveillance system as they loaded the merchandise into a vehicle located in the side parking lot of Kmart.

By the time an officer arrived at the store they were informed that the couple was just driving out of the parking lot with the allegedly stolen goods.

Activating the cruiser’s blue lights and siren, the officer was able to catch up to the suspect’s vehicle at a red light at the intersection of Grand Union Boulevard and Revolution Drive.

After the light turned green, the suspect’s vehicle pulled to the right side of the road behind Home Depot.

As the officer began to exit his cruiser, the suspect’s vehicle took off again up Grand Union Boulevard, according to reports.

The officer pulled behind the vehicle with blue lights and siren activated while updating Somerville dispatchers with his location and situation.

At the intersection of Grand Union Boulevard and Mystic Avenue, the car was forced to stop momentarily for the traffic stopped at the red light.

The traffic opened up just enough for the suspect vehicle to pass through, and it reportedly turned right onto Mystic Avenue, then accelerated through the solid red light at the intersection of Mystic Avenue and Lombardi Way, making no attempt to stop.

As the car traveled down Mystic Avenue, its speed increased, according to the officer. The posted speed on Mystic Avenue is 30 mph. The officer noted that he was approaching 70 miles per hour as he followed behind the vehicle, which was pulling away at what was estimated to be 80 miles per hour.

Due to the risk to the public’s safety, the officer deactivated the blue lights and siren and discontinued the pursuit.

Police ran the license number and learned that the car belonged to a business in Cambridge. According to reports, an employee of the company, Derrick Wilson, of Quincy, had reported the vehicle as being stolen.

As police investigated, they found that Wilson appeared to be the suspect recorded on the video surveillance system.

Police located and arrested Wilson, charging him with failure to stop for police, larceny over $250, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, conspiracy, speeding, and failure to stop or yield.

A criminal complaint against Wilson’s alleged accomplice for larceny over $250 and conspiracy to commit larceny was subsequently filed as well.