Monday, August 8, 2011

Brockton PD Nab Suspect Behind Bushes

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A 37-year-old Springfield man faces armed robbery charges after a Brockton Police canine found the man hiding in bushes near Walnut Street, not far from where a man fled from a purple Plymouth Neon suspected in two gas station robberies in Stoughton Sunday morning.
Brockton Police Capt. Manuel Gomes said Brockton Police caught Samuel Stovall, 37, of Springfield, after a more than 60-minute search led police and canine officer Mason, to the Walnut Street and Crowell Street area—about 1/2 mile from where a purple Plymouth Neon crashed at the intersection of Hereford and Pleasant streets.
“I like to tell the guys, you didn’t catch ‘em, the dog did,” Gomes said, noting the officers involved did a great job tracking down the suspect.
Stovall was transported to Stoughton where he was arrested and expected in court this morning for arraignment.
The search for Stovall began Sunday, Aug. 7 at about 9:30 a.m. when a bulletin to local police departments from Stoughton Police reported a man with a knife allegedly robbed the Prestige Gulf on Turnpike Street and Stoughton Gulf on Dykman Way.
Police were alerted the man used a knife to force cashiers at both stations to turnover an undetermined amount of money.
Gomes said Brockton Officer Albert Gazzaro spotted the Plymouth Neon in Brockton, turned on his siren and began to chase the vehicle.
After a short distance, Gomes said, the car crashed at the intersection of Hereford and Pleasant Streets. The driver, a black male, ran out of the car leaving a female passenger behind.
Gomes said a call went out to area canine units, including State Police.
Police set up cruisers at various intersections surrounding the N. Warren Avenue area from Pleasant Street, including Crowell and Walnut streets as they searched for the run away man.
Brockton Officer John Sturdevant arrived and canine officer Mason began to pick up the scent from the crashed vehicle.
Gomes said the woman in the vehicle helped police with information about where Stovall might try to run and what the pair had been doing prior to the accident.
As Sturdevant and Mason scoured the neighborhood, other officers questioned walkers and those in driveways.
Police found a hat and a shirt Stovall may have discarded as he ran away from the accident scene.
Gomes said Stovall was eventually caught at about 11 a.m. behind a house hiding behind bushes near Walnut and Crowell streets.
Gomes said Stovall has dozens of misdemeanors and felonies, including numerous drug and robbery convictions, dating back to a juvenile criminal past.
“He is well-known to authorities,” Gomes said. “Obviously, he is a career, a habitual criminal,” he said.
Gomes said in the crashed car police found a large, folding knife and cigarettes that allegedly link Stovall with the Stoughton robberies.

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