WINDHAM - The Windham police officers who shot and wounded Grant Hebert in October were justified in using deadly force, Attorney General Michael A. Delaney said Thursday.

According to Delaney, the 21-year-old Pelham man:

-- Led police on a high-speed chase 4 1/2 minutes down residential streets in the early morning hours of Oct. 28;

-- Drove his Hyundai Tiburon at 90-plus mph on Lowell Road in Windham;

-- Crashed the vehicle through a wooden fence;

-- Rammed a Pelham police cruiser and drove across a front yard to re-enter the road;

-- Headed straight for a group of uniformed police officers.

Pelham Officer Eugene Stahl and Windham Police Officers Shane Mirisola and Christopher Van Hirtum were yelling commands to stop when Hebert drove toward them, Delaney said in the news release.

"Mirisola then fired several rounds from his semi-automatic sidearm toward the car's front windshield. As the car continued to accelerate toward him, Mirisola was forced to dive out of the way to avoid being struck. Van Hirtum then fired a second round of shots at the moving car.

"It was only after the second volley that the car's engine stopped revving," Delaney said in the news release, which noted that Stahl had also fired at the vehicle.

Hebert surrendered to the police shortly before 2 a.m.

"I'm sorry," he reportedly told officers. "I didn't want to get in trouble again."

Hebert, who had been charged with marijuana possession five months earlier in Pelham, had a month of probation remaining, according to Delaney.

Immediately after his arrest, he was taken to Parkland Medical Center, where he was treated for small bullet wounds on his calf, scalp and upper back.

Hebert was later charged with multiple felonies, including attempted first-degree assault, two counts of reckless conduct and three counts of criminal mischief.

He also faces three misdemeanor charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated and disobeying a police officer.

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April Guilmet may be reached at AGuilmet@newstote.com.