Vermont man gets prison term after high-speed police chase through Keene

The sentence calls for 2½ to six years in State Prison, along with a 12-month jail term to be served at the same time.

Robert Dragon, 34, of Hardwick, Vt., was sentenced July 8 in Cheshire County Superior Court after pleading guilty to charges tied to a February 2025 pursuit that began in Vermont and continued through Keene and into Chesterfield.

The sentence calls for 2½ to six years in State Prison, along with a 12-month jail term to be served at the same time. Dragon has 488 days of credit for time spent in pretrial confinement.

Judge Anne Edwards also imposed several suspended sentences that could take effect if Dragon commits another offense within the next decade. Among them are two suspended prison terms of 3½ to seven years.

According to police records, Dragon was wanted by Vermont State Police when a Keene officer located him in a vehicle that had been reported stolen. Officers later followed the car on Route 101, and the affidavit filed by Keene police said Dragon drove at speeds above 100 mph, went the wrong way on Route 9 and struck the front of a marked cruiser.

Dragon pleaded guilty to three felony counts, including two counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and one count of receiving stolen property. He also admitted to three misdemeanors: disobeying an officer, operating after suspension due to DUI and theft.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a series of other allegations, including misuse of plates, receiving stolen property up to $1,000 in value, resisting arrest, reckless operation, another reckless conduct with a deadly weapon charge involving the motor vehicle, criminal restraint and receiving stolen property.