Updated 1/27/14, based on BPD police report, courtesy of District A-1, filling in the details of initial accounts:
Shortly before 1 pm on Sunday, January 26th, a Mass. Environmental Police unit attempted to stop a black Mercedes Benz on North Washington Street. Instead of stopping, the Mercedes accelerated in an attempt to flee. A BPD patrol observed this and with the cruiser’s lights and sirens joined the pursuit and notified dispatch.
The officers followed the Mercedes on to Thatcher Street, then right on to Prince Street (where the Mercedes ignored the stop sign) and then left on to Margaret Street. At the intersection of Margaret and Sheafe Streets, police observed a white male wearing a black coat, blue jeans, carrying a white bag and fleeing from the vehicle.
Police pursued the suspect on foot down Sheafe Street towards Salem Street. Pedestrians pointed to the officer that the suspect had turned left on to North Bennett Street and he was observed hiding behind a parked car. The suspect complied with the officer’s demand to lay prone before being placed under arrest and handcuffed.
Inside the white bag the officers found 7 sealed boxes of Godiva chocolates and two 8-count packages of Gillette Fusion razors.
Police found that the black Mercedes was reported stolen and it had struck a white Chrysler which forced it into an orange Mini parked in front of it. The suspect’s license was also found revoked. He was charged with refusal to submit to a police officer, failure to stop at a stop sign, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident with property damage, operating a motor vehicle after a license is revoked, receiving stolen motor vehicle and receiving stolen goods.
Neighborhood resident Michelle Levine (@MichelletwEATS) captured the photo above and others on Twitter posted photos of the multiple chase cars on Salem Street. We initially passed on information from Patrick Maguire (@Patrick Maguire) that the suspect was subsequently captured on foot and this was confirmed by the police report.
Car chases through the North End, for the sake of a Mercedes? Doesn’t that prove dangerous, considering the tightly-knit web of streets in the neighborhood? Thankfully, no one was hit,
unlike the car chases we hear about on the news that usually end up tragic. I just don’t get it…..
what are the police thinking…..or not thinking at all !
Umm are you honestly saying this was the polices fault????
I’ve never understood the “police shouldn’t chase when they run” people. Do you not realize that the end result of this policy would be that those who are wanted or in stolen cars would just never pull over when asked? If it’s not your car, the cops have no way to know who you are. If any innocent bystanders had gotten hurt here, the fault would have been solely on the idiot trying to run from the cops.
I heard he was dressed like a nun
Liz, I’m quite sure you would have a different view if it was your car & you should wait until the entire story comes out before you question the actions of the police.
I believe I read enough – what more does one need to read about that chase? Facts are there… over a dozen police cars involved. That is insane. One has to admit that it seems a bit excessive — especially throughout the North End neighborhood. Ask the parents with toddlers their point of view. It is not a question of ‘blame’, rather a question of — responsibility, of good judgment. Perhaps the chase was a sequel to “Our Town”, noting that the suspect was dressed as a nun, according to Mary 1.
Constructive criticism for the the editors of northendwaterfront.com — I enjoy the news and information reported through your website, however, while personal twitter accounts might be a reliable source for other types of information, I think reference to “tweets” in the context of crime reporting is a lapse in judgment and editorially unsound.
Keep up the good and informative work otherwise though!
Kristen – Thank you for the feedback. I understand your concerns. Please know that the Twitter posts we used were for on scene photos and broad information combined with other sources. Of the tweets we shared, they were from people who had been reliable sources in the past and those we knew lived or worked in the neighborhood.
Of course, we would never implicate anyone by name based on a tweet. We usually don’t include names in our crime reports anyway. We’ve been criticized for that but fully understand that initial reports can be unreliable. And of course, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
We also clearly indicate when our information is preliminary or incomplete. And, we attempt to update as more information becomes available, as we did in this case. Here, it turns out the tweets were correct and we have now updated the post with more details from the police report.
In a broader context, please understand that this site is more of a bulletin board than an investigative news service. Given that I do this in my spare time, it has to be that way and we disclose these risks in our “About” page: http://northendwaterfront.com/about/
Lastly, I would note that Twitter is used by nearly every mainstream news organization as a source of leads. To ignore it would be unsound. As you mention, context is everything and we try to be careful in what is appropriate to post here.
Thanks again for your note and please feel free to share any other questions or concerns here or directly to info@northendwaterfront.com.
–Matt
I saw this chase as it went from Thatcher to Prince and up Margaret. It was actually a black BMW, which was speeding, was forced to stop on Prince Street due to traffic. The cop in the car behind him (2nd cop car was behind the first) exiting his vehicle, drew his gun as he approached the BMW, which then was able to move forward as I’m sure the car blocking Prince moved thinking the police had to get through. The first cop car followed the BMW down Prince, while the 2nd took a turn up Margaret. It was a scary site, but looked like the police were on it. I assume the driver drove through the NE to get lost on the streets.
black mercedes c300…heard the crash, looked outside and saw the empty car still moving
With an overwhelming police response like that and the transfer of stolen goods, I’m willing to bet they were watching this guy to begin with.
7 boxes of chocolate and 16 razor blades. Sounds like he was doing a little V-Day shopping for the Mrs.
im surprised there were no cars blocking the street,, I grew up on Margaret st and couldn’t even get my grocerys out for my parents when they went food shopping because there were always cars blocking the st..
Those planters on the sidewalk should not be allowed, as they narrow the clear distance on the sidewalk and do not allow wheelchairs to pass. My guess is that they are probably illegal.
the sidewalks on Margaret St are too narrow for a wheel chair to fit even without the planters. Margaret St is so steep.I would hope someone in a wheelchair would go to the safer. less steep Salem St but if they absolutely had to use Margaret St, they would use the middle of the street the same way pedestrians do. Those planters have been there for decades.
This car was indeed a Black Mercedes and was stolen from outside my store in Waltham. It was my customer’s car!
On a lighter note – given the best possible ending for this incident, with no one seriously injured by the chase – my English friends’ favorite part of the North End is right there where it all happened – where Prince intersects with “Margaret” and “Thatcher” (OK, not spelled the same way as the cognomen late British P.M., but still a funny coincidence). A very modern way of signaling our neighborhood’s British Colonial roots!
I WANT TO KNOW WHY OUR POLICE ARE NOT THIS ATTENTIVE WITH DOGS ON WEEKEND
NIGHTS, AND WHY DOGS WERE NOT INVOLVED WHEN THEY WERE THROWING CIGARETTE
BUTTS, BEER BOTTLES OFF ROOFTOPS AT OUR POLICE, AND NOT TO MENTION
URINATING ON THEM. THE STOLEN CAR WARRANTS SWAT TEAMS, DOGS, AND NUMEROUS POLICE CARS AND ABUSING THE POLICE DOESN’T. I DON’T GET IT.
Swat team for a college party (which I remember being like a year a go that you continue to reference) is so excessive it borders on laughter. A stolen car with a man fleeing into the north end is pretty much exactly what the swat team is for. Who knows what the guy was carrying or capable of. The swat team showing up at a college party would just be redicoulous. A college party doesn’t need a swat team that’s just how a law suit gets started, but again I think you are referencing that same incident from a while ago.
These are two entirely different issues. People comment on trash because it’s something that EVERYONE has in their home, on their sidewalk and in the NE in general. You can fix the majority of the trash issues w/ a little bit of compromise on everyone’s part. Drugs are an issue in every city and town in North America. Trash is not.
M A R I E, you really don’t understand the difference between a stolen mercedes with likely ties to organized crime being persued aggressively and a late night loud party? Some of these college students/young professionals can be jerks -there’s no doubt about it, but they aren’t stealing cars, trafficking stolen goods or robbing convenience stores. They also aren’t buying or selling heroin on Salem or Hanover street. Anyone that really knows this neighborhood knows that happens every day by the same people in the same spots, yet I don’t see any lifelong northenders commenting about it or complaining about it at the local community organization meetings. Heroin is highly addictive. It destroys lives and families and it also leads to more crime – breaking and entering, assaults, car break ins, other thefts, etc etc.
I find the response of some of the long term north enders to crime/disturbances very intriguing. If someone steals a car, trafficks stolen goods or sells heroin, a blind eye is turned, yet when a 24 year old tax paying, high rent paying kid who works in the financial district wants to have a few friends over to blow off some steam on a friday night, everyone’s up in arms.
Times are changing. They always have and always will. But I’ll be honest – when I have visiting friends and relatives from out of town here, I’m most embarrassed by the syringes and blatant drug deals taking place in plain sight at the corner of Prince and Hanover and in front of boston common coffee on salem.
The trash is definitely a problem. And I agree that the frequent turnover of apartments between college kids and young professionals leads to a steady stream of disrespectful, loud behavior mostly on weekends. But until the long term locals have the guts to call out the heroin dealers and other professional criminals in the neighborhood, I have a very hard time taking them seriously when they complain about anything at all.
Liz, I totally agree with you I’m a lifelong resident & I know the mentality & how some original North Enders think but newcomers have to speak up as well .I have posted numerous times about the blatant drug problems but as you see if there is a story about trash people come out of the woodwork to comment but look the other way when the use & sale of drugs come up.I call i the drug issue the North Ends dirty little secret that hasn’t been a secret for decades.It was disappointing to read the story about the needles being found all over the neighborhood yet their wasn’t much outcry compared to someone leaving a bag of trash on the sidewalk.
I think if there were a story in the Globe, or elsewhere, about the blatant drug dealing going on in the North End, people would comment on it. But Matt is not an investigative reporter. He runs this website on his own time. So if someone has a story…let’s read it.
John I’m trying to be honest & candid & my remarks are aimed at the residents of the neighborhood not Matt or the site.Many people born & raised here were taught that if you witness something you mind your business & keep your mouth shut.Some newcomers are just plain selfish & if an issue doesn’t affect them personally they could care less which doesn’t make a lot of sense because the drug issue affects everyone.Where are the city reps ? their silence is deafening.I see the photo ops visiting the schools & senior centers which is all well & good but where are they on the drug issue?
NEAD (North End Against Drugs) and Nazzaro do much for the community. Drug problem is everywhere even in tony suburbs.
True story…I came home Christmas Eve after a party. As I was walking home, there was a young guy in his 20’s walking down Hanover St yelling…”Who has Clonipin…who has Clonipin?” He then walked down Parmenter St…..you are right. No one seems to address it and I see dealing being done, everyday, right out in the open. Never talked abut at the neighborhood meetings.
While I applaud NEAD & their efforts to educate NE youth on the perils of drugs & drug use their not a law enforcement agency & aren’t going to clean out the drug dealers in the neighborhood or go in the gassy, Prince St. playground & other public areas where the junkies shoot up & discard their needles & the fact that drugs are a problem everywhere does not mean its a problem that cant be cured. .With all due respect the Nancy Reagan “just say no” solution was as much of a joke than as it is today.
The North End population consists mostly of “newcomers”/short-term residents who are not concerned about most neighborhood issues.
PLEASE LET US GET ONE THING STRAIGHT, I AM NOT COMPARING PARTIES TO STOLEN
CARS, THE FACT REMAINS, OUR POLICE WERE DISRESPECTED, AND URINATED ON
AND CIG. BUTTS & BOTTLES WERE THROWN AT THEM. HEROIN DEALERS ARE A MAJOR
CONCERN, AND I DON’T KNOW WHO THEY, BUT IT IS NOT MY FAULT OR ANY LONGTIME
RESIDENTS FAULT THAT THIS HAS NOT BE ADDRESSED. I THINK OF OUR POLICE AS
HUMAN BEINGS WHO ARE SUPPOSE TO BE PROTECTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND IF
ANYONE, YOUNG OR OLD SHOULD DISRESPECT OR ASSAULT OUR POLICE, REGARDLESS
OF WHAT CONDITION THEY ARE IN, SHOULD PAY A VERY BIG PRICE. I HOPE I MADE MY
POINT TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE COMPARING PARTIES TO CAR THEFTS, AND LET
ME ADD ANOTHER THING, THERE ARE A LOT MORE INCIDENTS THAT YOU DON’T KNOW
ABOUT REGARDING DISRESPECTING OUR POLICE, OTHER THAN THE 2 HANOVER ST.
ROOFTOP PARTIES.
Drugs, drug dealing, and the sale of ‘hot’ merchandise (and all of the ‘druggies’ who sell the ‘hot’ stuff to residents) are real problems in the NE. Just spend some time on Endicott Street or Hanover and Prince. I have lived here more than 30 years and it seems to have really gotten worse over the last 5-10 years. Or maybe it has just come into the open. Not sure which but it is scary.
concerned NE resident,the drug problem has always been here so instead of the NE being the Calcutta of Boston its more like the Amsterdam of Boston and unlike the Calcutta article that claimed that trash is a “health emergency” I would argue that used needles strewn throughout the neighborhood is a much bigger health emergency. Trash is an eye sore & a cosmetic problem caused by ignorant people & enforcement is nearly impossible.Criminals /druggies operate where their comfortable which is why they have gotten so brazen. As far as the “hot stuff” these are items that are stolen from vehicles & B&Es which is my biggest concern because its only a matter of time until an elderly resident or someone taking a shower or a nap or coming home from work,a run or a trip to the store are confronted by a thief in their apartment & thats when someone can get seriously hurt or worse.
I remember when HOT stuff used to come out the trunk of a car.. not peoples homes..