*** UPDATED DETAILS *** COPS SNAG MAN ACCUSED OF PUNCHING YARMOUTH WOMAN… [HN PHOTOS]
TOP HN PHOTOS: Police arrest their suspect in the front yard of an unrelated residence… neighbors came out of their homes to find out what was going on.
[UPDATED 3/5/24 @ 8PM – The following has been updated and corrected with information from police reports filed in Barnstable District Court]
WEST YARMOUTH, Massachusetts – [HN PHOTO NOTES] – Since late last evening, Yarmouth police officers had been scouring their town for a wanted man accused of ‘punching a woman in the face’ (according to radio transmissions… but as it turns out the victim suffered injuries from being struck in the chest, not the face) during a domestic disturbance. Officers responded to the woman’s West Yarmouth home after [a family member] called 911 asking for help. (Two minor children were home during the alleged assault.) Arriving officers quickly learned a barefoot male suspect had just fled on foot wearing a sweatshirt, white beanie cap and pajama bottoms. The suspect had reportedly been in a prior relationship with the woman and there may have been a restraining order already in effect… (update – there was, in fact, an active restraining order according to police reports). Officers had also been warned to use caution as the suspect was known to carry firearms. (That’s when HN decided to head that way…)
HN was in the vicinity of Winslow Gray Road and Buck Island Road when the YPD saturated the area and deployed a K9 unit after the suspect was observed running through someone’s backyard. The suspect was ultimately not located last evening, and the YPD was in the process of getting a warrant for his arrest.
Earlier this evening around 6:00 p.m., officers had their eye on a residence on Washington Ave in West Yarmouth. As officers surrounded the residence and moved in, the suspect had been stepping down from the back deck […]. (UPDATE: According to the report, officers were already in position behind the residence when the suspect left the back deck. Because there was the possibility of him being armed with firearm, members of SWAT were already assisting on scene. Contact was made and the suspect was ordered to the ground and arrested…)
Residents came out of their homes to see the commotion and try to figure out what was going on. One alarmed woman was speaking into her phone in her front doorway and could be overheard saying with shock that officers were now looking in her backyard. She quickly returned inside to investigate the scene in her backyard.
An officer on scene mentioned the possibility of an “article search,” and officers appeared to briefly backtrack the suspect’s footsteps, but all-in-all everyone was able to clear the area within 20 minutes after the arrest.
HN has the suspect’s name but it has not been officially released or confirmed yet [DEVELOPING]. Because this a “domestic” arrest, officials are unable to release information until after the arraignment. (HN is currently reviewing reports and reaching out to sources…) HN will provide updates as they become available.
HN just had missed arriving, leveling the camera and making a low-light photo of the fleeing suspect by approximately 4 seconds… the top photo shows officers stuffing their man into the backseat of a cruiser… HN was just 4 seconds late… (like the cops, HN had been on this disturbing story since late last evening)
*sigh*
… c’est la vie.
[HN is currently reviewing police reports and reaching out to contacts… I’m told the suspect is being held in custody…. and HN may be updating this report with additional details in the days to come… there are a number of charges for the alleged restraining order violations and one count of kidnapping from when the victim was allegedly pinned down during the domestic disturbance.]
In other early evening news:
Shortly after 6:00 p.m., cops responded to the parking lot of the Hyannis Package Store when an intoxicated woman reportedly mistook a man’s Jeep for an Uber, sat down inside and refused to get out. The man told her to get out but she reportedly would not budge. She reportedly also made rude comments – possibly racially charged – prior to being taken into “protective custody.” The man who called police was grateful for officers handling and putting an end to the bizarre encounter.
P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is brought to you by Pam Grier… [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]
* The initial details contained in the above report are based on police radio transmissions and information on scene. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.