Map shows where police say CT man set house fire, led cops in chase amid crime spree

Jalen Rasheed Skeete, 24, of Bridgeport, is accused of eluding state police multiple times Friday morning, including a during a police pursuit that began in Newtown and ended in Brookfield, according to state police. 

State police said Skeete is also a suspect in Friday’s home invasion and fire at a home in the 100 block of Sylvan Avenue in Waterbury. 

Waterbury Police Sgt. Joseph Morais said the incident remains under investigation. 

Responding firefighters found heavy fire in the back part of the house, overtaking both the first and second floors, according to fire officials. 

Fire officials said the house was left uninhabitable but is not a total loss. It has heavy damage in the back and smoke and water damage everywhere else, they said.

Earlier in the day on Friday at around 7:15 a.m., Skeete allegedly fled from police in the parking lot of a Prospect school and struck a police cruiser.

After the fire, state police said he again evaded capture during pursuits in Newtown before being stopped in Brookfield. 

Skeete is being held on $250,000 bond on charges by state police in the evading in Prospect and the pursuit in Brookfield. He is charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with police, reckless driving, engaging in a police pursuit and evading responsibility.