Mahopac schools lockdown lifted after suspect taken into custody

MAHOPAC (WABC) -- Lockdowns on the first day of school at Mahopac High School and Mahopac Middle School were lifted following a police manhunt that ended with a suspect in custody.

The schools were locked down -- and others in the district placed on lockout -- while police searched for a suspect who had fled into the woods following a crash.

Carmel police said they were looking for a man wanted in connection with a grand larceny who had fled on foot in the area of Baldwin Road. Xhem Hoti, 25, was arrested in Mahopac Falls about 90 minutes after the incident began.

Officers who attempted to pull over Hoti say he drove away, veered off the road, hit a fire hydrant and careened down an embankment. He then exited the vehicle and took off into the woods.

An area resident called 911 after a man fitting Hoti's description knocked on his door. Authorities were able to contact him via cell phone and convince him to surrender.

Authorities say no students were in harms way at any point.