For Immediate Release: 4/4/2022 12:05 pm
In an attempt to address violence in Worcester, Chief Sargent initiated a new investigative team that will increase interactions with known violent offenders, establish a presence in areas with a high level of gun violence, and develop information on potential violence before it occurs. Preventing gun violence is a top priority for the Worcester Police Department, and the first weekend in which this new team was activated resulted in three arrests.
On April 2nd 2022 about 11:55 AM, Worcester Police officers received a ShotSpotter notification that shots had been fired in the area of Stanton St. Upon arrival, officers observed that two vehicles had been struck by gunfire, and the suspects had fled the scene. As part of the follow-up investigation, officers determined that a black Jeep with a white sticker on its rear had been used by the suspects.
On April 3rd at about 2:50 AM, a Worcester Police sergeant on this assignment observed a black Jeep go through a stop sign at the corner of Endicott St and Harding St. The officer’s attention was drawn to the vehicle because it matched the description of the vehicle involved in a recent gunshot call on Stanton St, and the white sticker on its rear was in the same location. The sergeant pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the seventeen-year-old driver and fifteen-year-old passenger.
The driver did not have a driver’s license, there was marijuana and liquor in the vehicle, and officers located a handgun in the vehicle. Neither of the occupants had a license to carry firearms. The seventeen-year-old driver was placed under arrest and charged with Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Minor Transporting Alcohol and the fifteen-year-old passenger was charged with Carrying a Loaded Firearm, Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm, Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm, Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device, Possession of Ammunition, Improperly Storing a Firearm Near a Minor, Possession of Class D with Intent to Distribute, and Minor Transporting Alcohol.
Both males will be arraigned in court.
On April 2nd at about 12:20 AM, a Worcester Police officer on this assignment was conducting surveillance in the area of 7-Elevent on Belmont St when he observed an SUV with Florida plates in the lot. There were two males in the vehicle, and they kept exiting and looking around as if waiting for someone. Two other males approached them and the officer observed a hand-to-hand transaction. The vehicle exited the lot and began driving up Belmont St.
The officer asked for backup over the radio and stopped the vehicle. The officer located multiple bags of what appeared to be cocaine in the vehicle. Officers arrested Carlos Roman, thirty-one-years-old of Rodney St, for Possession of Class B with intent to distribute (2nd or Subsequent) and three outstanding warrants. Mr. Roman will be arraigned in court.
