Patch Employee Detained in Search for Bomb Suspect
Patch Associate Regional Ad Director Al Wilson was detained by police while returning to his home in Watertown on Thursday night. Here, he explains what happened: Q: What were you doing on Thursday night when this all happened? A: I had driven back from a business trip for Patch from Southern New Jersey, returning to Watertown at 9 p.m. I went into my house and had done some work on my computer before going back outside to fetch a suitcase from my car. Two loud explosions suddenly sounded somewhere behind my house. In between explosions was a series of gunshots. There was then perhaps a 10 second gap before 30 to 40 shots were fired in quick succession. Then all was quiet. Q: What did you do next? A: I climbed into the car and instead of going back to the house (toward where the explosion and gunfire seemed to be coming from), I drove the opposite direction in my rental car, turned left on Mt. Auburn from Bailey and away from the scene. I had made it perhaps 200 yards or less on Mt. Auburn when 40 or so state and local police cars came up Mt. Auburn. I slowed and pulled to the right shoulder of the road. All of the police took a right onto a side street in front of my car with lights flashing but no sirens. So many pulled onto the side street that they were lined up as far as you could see. The whole side street was blocked (from top to bottom). In quick succession, all cars shut their lights off. I believe police stayed in these vehicles. Q: You must have been terrified. What did you do next? A: I then pulled away and continued another 100 yards before several more groups of police raced up the road. I estimate they were doing 100 mph-plus and in close proximity to each other. Several police pulled across Mt. Auburn and raced from their vehicles, leaving cars in the road. I pulled over onto a side street to my left (off Mt. Auburn) and parked the car. I sat in car for some time, hearing sirens and straining engines from cars under hard acceleration. Q: At this point did things start to calm down a bit? A: At some point I thought things had been quiet for some time, and I decided to quickly walk the 300 yards or so back to my house. I left the vehicle on the side street and ran along far right side of Mt. Auburn toward my house. I had made it approximately 100 yards or so when […]
Five Guns, Child Found in South End Bed Bug Search
Two South End residents face weapons charges after pest control inspectors found guns in their apartment. Following a search, officers turned up three more guns, some of which had altered serial numbers. Boston police officers responded to a report from the Boston Housing police who had found firearms at 16 East Brookline Street on April 5. When Boston police officers arrived, they observed the two suspects sitting in the parlor area handcuffed. Officers spoke with the Boston Housing Chief Stephen Melia that there were two firearms found under a mattress when Pest reliever employees conducted an inspection of bedbugs in the apartment. A Pest Reliever employee said that he lifted the mattress in the bedroom and found tow handguns while inspecting for bedbugs. At this point, the worker informed his partner, who phoned their supervisor. Boston Housing Police were dispatched at about 10:41 a.m.. The front door of the apartment was locked, so officers made contact with the housing manager. According to the report, officers found a small child in the apartment with no parents in sight. Officers found the two suspects asleep on the mattress. The suspects would not wake up to verbal commands. When officers were able to awaken the suspects, they ordered them into the living room, flipped the mattress, and found a .380 and a Glock handgun. Officers executed a search warrant for the apartment on at 11:52 a.m., and interrogated the suspects. The suspects stated that they knew that there were firearms under the mattress that they were sleeping on, but they had little knowledge of how the guns got there. The suspects told officers that other people had access to the apartment. Officers found a Sentry Storage Safe located under the bed. The suspects denied ownership of this safe or any knowledge as to where it came from. Officers noted that this safe is common for containing weapons and contraband. Due to the weight of the safe and the noise from the interior, officers located the keys and opened it. Detectives found three revolvers and large plastic bags of ammunition. The ammunition was counted and totaled 300 rounds, which were all the same caliber as the weapons recovered on the scene. Two of the guns had defaced serial numbers and one was a large capacity firearm. According to the police report, the Pest Control Inspection Notice was posted on the mirror of the bedroom for April 5 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Sayria Cooper of 16 East Brookline Street and Dannie Levy of 25 Donald Road, Mattapan were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of firearms, possession of firearms with altered serial numbers, […]