IN THE BOOK
H-TROOP
By Sgt. Bob Leverone
A late night traffic stop by Tpr. John McDonald, working out of SP Milton, proved once again that those who can least afford to be stopped often do something dumb.
Tpr. McDonald was running radar on Rte. 24 in Avon when he stopped a Dodge Ram pickup truck with three muffs inside. As the driver fumbled aimlessly for his paperwork, the front passenger thought he would help by opening the glove box for the registration. Instead, he revealed a cache of drugs, which John seized. The cache included several bags of marijuana laced with PCP and a bundle (10 bags) of heroin.
Upon arrival of Tpr. Adrian Webb-Johnson all subjects were removed from the truck and searched. The front passenger said he had no drugs, but did have a hypodermic in his pocket. A woman in the back seat who initially given a false name was found to have four warrants for various nefarious deeds. She was secured and a further search of the truck followed. A bag was located under the front seat and found to contain one hundred and forty-four dime bags of marijuana. Several unknown pills and drug paraphernalia were also found leading to the arrest of the remaining two occupants.
All were charged with various drug offenses with the driver incurring the most egregious of the offenses; trafficking in a class B substance.
Great job John. No flagmen came to assist.
In an apparent lost episode of “The Twilight Zone” Tpr. Dennis Keeler was dispatched by Sgt. John Flaherty to a reported car fire on Day Boulevard near the South Boston Barracks. Upon arrival, Dennis observed the driver exit the burning vehicle, a Ford pickup truck, walk around to the other side and get back in! Tpr. Keeler, another son of fine MSP lineage, ran up to the truck and ordered the man to get out. He refused and was physically removed from truck in which fire was rapidly advancing.
After placing the man on the sidewalk, the Trooper Keeler took a statement from a witness who stated the truck struck the curb several times and became stuck on the sidewalk after the tires blew out. The driver then continually spun the wheels on the rims until the friction built up enough to ignite the remaining rubber of the tires.
While Dennis was taking the witness statement, the driver walked back to the truck and jumped in again, refusing commands to stay away.
By this time, several troopers, most on PAID DETAIL arrived to assist in removing the crazy fool from the conflagration.
It was soon determined the man had perhaps knocked back a few too many “how-do-ya-do’s” and was given field sobriety test by Tpr. Ryan McLeod. Needless to say, the would-be human candle failed the tests and was arrested for OUI. He was later taken to H6 where he blew crooked numbers in the breath test before being secured in a cell for the night.
Assisting in the episode were: Tprs. Dave Gallagher, Marion Igielski and John Donavan. Not assisting in the episode were any flagmen.
No flagmen were available to assist Tpr. Karl Johnson during a recent detail when a drunken driver drove into the coned off construction area at sixty miles per hour and nearly struck his cruiser and construction vehicles. The highly trained Tpr. Johnson, unlike a flagman, then took off after the offender in his fully equipped, fully marked state police cruiser.
As the vehicle took the Ponkapaug exit, Karl hit the blue lights. Instead of stopping the vehicle, a white Toyota, sped up and attempted to elude the trooper only to crash into a tree in the front yard of a Blue Hill River Road residence.
Tpr. Johnson quickly exited his bluebird and ordered the driver to exit the car. Instead, with a deployed airbag blocking his view, the driver backed up at the trooper and took off again.
As luck would have it Off. Larry Lundrigan of the Milton PD observed what happened and joined the trooper in the pursuit until it ended with the Toyota striking a car at the intersection of Rte. 138 and Blue Hill River Road. Both occupants fled on foot with Tpr. Johnson and Off. Lundrigan on the heels of the driver. Once caught, he put up a violent struggle before finally being cuffed n’ stuffed.
Meanwhile, the passenger was being pursued on foot by Tpr. Mike Pedersen who captured the young man and arrested him. He initially gave a false name, but was well known by local police who identified him and found warrants for his arrest.
Milton detectives interviewed both men at the scene as they fit the description of suspects in a robbery at a car wash that had occurred a short time earlier. Meanwhile a search of the car yielded several bags of marijuana and a jacket from the car wash that was just robbed. The jacket even had the name of the victim embroidered on the sleeve and over four hundred dollars stolen in the robbery.
Due to the combative behavior of the driver, the suspects were taken to SP Milton where the driver remained very uncooperative. He faced a bevy of motor vehicle charges including OUI and failure to stop for police. Both men faced drug possession charges and robbery charges levied by Milton PD.
The driver of the car that was struck by the fleeing suspects was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries to her arm.
Tpr. Johnson’s presence at the construction sight undoubtedly saved the life of at least one construction worker. His capture of the driver quite possibly saved the lives of others. For his efforts, Tpr. Karl Johnson receives this month’s Mother of All Pinches Award. No flagmen assisted.
Tpr. Rich Lauria was running radar on Quincy Shore Drive in Quincy when he stopped the driver of a brand spanking new Nissan Maxima for traveling sixty-three in a thirty zone. Tpr. Lauria obtained the necessary paperwork and returned to his cruiser.
A subsequent check via the trooper’s on-board computer revealed a felony warrant for the driver out of Hingham Court. Tpr. Lauria returned to the car and arrested the driver without incident. He then summoned a tow.
While waiting for the tow, Rich followed policy and procedure and conducted an inventory. An unlocked briefcase on the back seat was opened to reveal a large baggie of marijuana, a couple of smaller bags of crack cocaine and another bag with numerous unidentified pills.
Back at SP South Boston, the defendant remained mum about the drugs even after it was discovered the pills included Oxycodone, Alprazolam and Suboxone, all highly sought after on the black market. A simple speeding stop turned great arrest. Gotta love it! Oh yeah; no flagmen came to assist.
While working a recent eve shift for the H-Troop Community Action Team, Tpr. Ron Solimini stopped a Honda Accord for excessive window tint and defective equipment on I-93 in Quincy.
As the driver was searching for his paperwork, Ron spied numerous air fresheners strewn about the vehicle and other indicators of possible narcotics. The driver had three different stories about where he was going and how he would get there. It all added up to a consent search of the vehicle.
After searching and securing the driver, Ron conducted a search and located a hidden compartment under the front passenger seat. A further inspection of the compartment netted over twenty-seven hundred dollars and one hundred and forty grams of cocaine surrounded by other baggies of potpourri to mask the odor. Great job by Ron. A flagman might have driven by, but we will never know because they do not have fully marked police cars, a uniform, equipment or training to assist.
A certified bad guy thought it would be a good idea to kidnap a woman at knifepoint in Brockton and flee in his BMW. Unfortunately for him, he was reported by the victim’s sister and Tpr. Bob Crocker of SP Foxboro put out the warning.
A short time later, Sgt. John Henley, the H-troop patrol supervisor, spotted the car on River Street in Mattapan. He alerted the troops and took up a recon position to await backup as the BMW gassed up at a filling station.
As the suspect vehicle left the area, it was surrounded by numerous state police and Boston police cars. The suspect still managed to break out and a pursuit ensued through the streets of Boston. At one point, the suspect was driving an estimated one hundred miles per hour down Dorchester Avenue before eluding his pursuers. A perimeter was quickly set up.
A Boston officer located the BMW behind a building with the distraught victim still in it. She stated the suspect fled on foot. Boston and state police canine teams hit the streets and began to track the suspect. Tpr. Tim Blackwell and his K9 partner located the suspect under a car in a residential garage. The subject was arrested and taken back to the BMW where the victim positively identified him as her kidnapper. The suspect was taken to SP South Boston for processing and questioning.
Assisting in the investigation were: Sgt. Brian Howe, Trooper John Duggan and Sgt. Len Coppenrath. No flagmen assisted. Stellar job guys.
“Keep your eyes open and your powder dry.”
- O. North
