WATERVILLE — A Lewiston man is one of two suspects arrested in a string of thefts in central Maine, according to Waterville police.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, June 29, Waterville police received a call from Wal-Mart that a man had stolen a computer and fled in an SUV with a Florida license plate, Waterville Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said.

Detective Sgt. William Bonney had tried to stop the vehicle on Interstate 95, but Gerald Wotton, 50, of Augusta, refused to stop, Rumsey said.

Wotton pulled over after being pursued for about a mile but fled into nearby woods, and his passenger, Travis Young, 43, of Lewiston, was arrested and a stolen HP computer valued at $649 was recovered, Rumsey said.

A state police canine unit was called in to search for Wotton but he was not found.

During the investigation, officers learned the SUV, registered to Young’s recently deceased mother, was being sought by Auburn police in a June 26 theft, and by Waterville police for a theft on the same day, Rumsey said.

A check of Wotton’s criminal history revealed eight theft convictions, including seven over the past two years, and a warrant was issued for Wotton’s arrest, Rumsey said.

On Thursday, Wotton turned himself in to Waterville police, and he was charged with theft, operating after suspension, failing to stop for an officer and violating conditions of release.

Young was charged with two misdemeanor theft charges for his involvement in the Waterville thefts on June 26 and 29, and he was released on $1,000 bail from the police station. Wotton is being held at the Kennebec County Jail, awaiting arraignment.