WOONSOCKET — A trio of men made a bid to flee from police Friday evening, police said, but even after abandoning an alleged stolen car in North Smithfield and taking to the woods, they ended up in custody.

James Joseph, 37, of 5 Handy St., Providence, the driver of the vehicle, was charged by Woonsocket Police with possession of a motor vehicle, eluding a police officer, speeding in excess of 15 miles over the speed limit and driving without a license, Lt. John Picard said later.
The driver is alleged to have been in possession of a gray 2007 Hundai sedan stolen from an 86-year-old man in Cranston on Aug. 15, according to police.
The two other suspects, a 19-year-old and a 22-year-old, were processed at the North Smithfield Station after being taken into custody at the wooded location off Woonsocket Hill Road by North Smithfield Police.
Picard said the incident began in Woonsocket when Patrolwoman Maureen Andreoni spotted the Hundai operating at a high rate of speed in the Fairmount area at about 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Andreoni followed the car onto Holcomb Lane, Picard said, and then observed the vehicle jump the curb and cut through a yard of a home on bordering Pleasant Street before continuing on to Mason Street at a high rate of speed.
The car drove onto South Main Street without stopping and continued on in the direction of North Smithfield at speeds topping 60 miles and hour – passing cars and forcing them off the road in the process, Picard said.
Andreoni pursued the vehicle to Great Road but broke off the chase for safety concerns, Picard said, and provided North Smithfield Police with a description of the car.
North Smithfield units located the car abandoned and still running in the middle of Woonsocket Hill Road and witnesses reported seeing three men running down the street after leaving the car. North Smithfield police began search of the nearby woods with the department’s K-9 unit and members of the Woonsocket Department, Picard said.
The three suspects were trailed deep into the woods and taken into custody without incident, Picard said.
Joseph was also found to be wanted on four court warrants for a variety of charges.
The suspect was wanted in connection with the larceny of a firearm, felony larceny and two counts of counterfeiting and forgery, Picard said.
He was held at the police station pending arraignment before a bail commissioner, police said.