With the help of a woman yelling out of a second-story window, cops succeeded in chasing down an armed and allegedly dangerous man.
The chase took place last Friday night in Fair Haven. Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman (with his precise words in quotation marks):
A “helpful citizen” called Officers Louis DeCrescenzo and Ryan Macuirzynski while they were patrolling the beat, to report a “large fight near Limerick and Ferry Streets.” A six-foot man “wearing a red fanny-pack pointed a gun at some teenagers before running off,” the caller reported..
The two cops, along with Officers Michael Criscuolo and Michael Fumiatti, went in search of the suspect. They spotted a man matching the description on Ferry Street. “The suspect saw them and took off running.” The cops ran after him.
“The fleeing man ran up a driveway. A woman hearing someone at the side of her house leaned out of her second story window. She spotted the pursuing officers and yelled, ‘He jumped the fence and ran toward Pine Street.’
“Officers DeCrescenzo and Macuirzynski split up and headed to different parts of Pine Street. Officer DeCrescenzo spotted the suspect,” who just turned 22 and lives in the Hill. The suspect climbed to the top of a tall wooden fence and was trying to get to the other side.
“Officer DeCrescenzo, clad in his duty gear, realized he wasn’t making it over the fence, so he busted through it, knocking [the suspect] to the ground. There was almost an apprehension. [The suspect] got away and continued fleeing down Pine Street. He ran in front of Officers Criscuolo and Fumiatti’s car. The officers got out and chased [the man], who appeared to be clutching something in his waistband. [He] made it to Bright street with the officers hot on his trail. [He] made it over a chain-link fence and had made it to a second fence when Officer Criscuolo tackled him to the ground. The officers fought with [him] and handcuffed him.”
Officers found the red purse at the bottom of the fence. It contained “a Jiminez Armes 9mm handgun and a bag of cocaine and a collection of feminine products.” The cops charted the man with “carrying a pistol without a permit, interfering with Police, trespassing and several drug crimes. He also had an outstanding warrant from Clinton, CT.”
