GUILDERLAND — After a high-speed vehicle pursuit and short foot chase, police arrested a Watervliet man Saturday in connection with a robbery at the Berkshire Bank branch in the Stuyvesant Plaza on Western Avenue.

Police said James Spears, 48, of 219 Vermont View Drive, entered the bank about 9:20 a.m. demanding cash. After being given an undisclosed amount of cash, he then fled in a black BMW convertible, police said.

A regional radio broadcast with suspect and vehicle descriptions resulted in a Colonie police officer attempting to pull over a vehicle matching the description.

Police said the vehicle speed away through Colonie, into Menands and onto Interstate 787 before the pursuit ended in the parking lot of the Veterans Administration Hospital on Holland Avenue in Albany.

Police said Spears then took off on foot before officers were able to stop him.

Spears was charged with third-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny. He was sent to the Albany County jail until arraignment.