Suspicious box; Police pursuit ends in the dirt… Operator charged with 4th OUI day before his 48th birthday… Suspect arrested after similar circumstances by Hyannis News Editor back in the 1980s… [Updated]
Hyannis – Officers used caution as they approached a suspicious metal box behind the JFK Museum today.
Photos were taken.
Supervisors were alerted.
Curious citizens took a gander.
The most suspicious thing about the DeWalt tool case was the latches being secured using plastic zip ties.
After about 15 minutes, police learned the box did, in fact, contain tools and was left there by a handyman doing work in the area.
Case closed.
In other news:
Members of the Street Crimes Unit chased a motor scooter that refused to pull over earlier tonight. The pursuit took place on Bayview Street behind the Cape Cod Hospital.
Plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles eventually caught up to and arrested a man on Rosetta Street.
The pursuit abruptly ended in an area where the asphalt turns into dirt road at the end of Rosetta. It’s still uncertain if the scooter was involved in an accident or if there was a spill.
A call to Barnstable Police a couple hours after the incident revealed very little. Dispatcher O’Brien informed that the arresting officers were still working on the case.
On a second call a short while later, Sergeant Kevin Tynan told Hyannis News the arrested man was not currently inside one of their jail cells.
When asked if the man was taken to Cape Cod Hospital, Sergeant Tynan said he wasn’t going to tell me if he was or he wasn’t. It is uncertain as to whether Tynan has the authority to cooperate or release information in this case. (For whatever reason, Sergeant Tynan consistently seems to lack the authority to release information or cooperate with the media. Why is that? Is his authority being restricted for a reason? Tonight’s incident and the apparent secrecy around it raises additional questions.)
Officers involved in tonight’s chase spent about an hour along several blocks carefully searching the roadside for something. A police K-9 was called in to help in the search.
Also, an additional cruiser was ordered to stay at the end of Rosetta Street to assist with what was referred to over the radio as “crowd control.” Which was unusual because Hyannis News and a couple neighbors were all that were anywhere near the scene.
According to police radio chatter, the driver only had motor vehicle charges at this time.
It is still unclear what they were searching for.
A plainclothes state police sergeant out searching the area did not confirm one way or another when asked if they were looking for drugs, referred to by police as “94C.”
Police are being tight-lipped regarding details surrounding this chase and reported arrest. Was the operator of the scooter injured while trying to escape? Why were police chasing him? And what were police so diligently searching for after the chase?
Tonight we’re left with many unanswered questions…
Attempts to reach Lieutenant John Murphy of the Street Crimes Unit were unsuccessful.
Hyannis News will provide updates as they become available.
Update 10/4/2013: Police arrested Matthew Sylvia of Hyannis, born 10-4-1965, for Operating Under the Influence, Operating to Endanger, 2 counts of Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, and Failure to Stop for a Police Officer. Sylvia was also operating on a revoked driver’s license.
Sylvia was driving a red motor scooter and observed swerving in and out of traffic. He was driving erratically as if impaired or under the influence of alcohol or some other drug. When the unmarked SCU police cruiser’s blue lights were activated, Sylvia refused to stop. A short chase ensued until the scooter crashed at the end of Rosetta Street.
Sylvia was placed under arrest by Barnstable Police Officer Scott Wright and Barnstable Sheriff Deputy Mike Huse.
Sylvia was eventually transported to Cape Cod Hospital for undisclosed reasons (but it’s believe it was related to his crash onto the dirt road… the police report is not yet complete.)
Sylvia has a long, sometimes violent history with police. Last night’s arrest is his 4th OUI charge.
Also, Hyannis News Editor and former Barnstable Patrolman Robert Bastille once arrested Sylvia back in the 1980s. I was running radar in the Hyannis Area and observed Sylvia traveling at a high rate of speed. I was alone and tried to catch up to the vehicle driving on Walton Ave towards Route 28… My blue lights were activated and Sylvia tried to evade me by turning to the rear of a business on Route 28 where he finally stopped. I arrested Sylvia for traffic related offenses and transported him back to police headquarters for booking. I did not charge Sylvia with Failure to Stop for a Police Officer because he finally decided to do the right thing and stop in that case.
Also of note, Today is Matthew Sylvia’s birthday…. Happy Birthday Matt.
10/3/2013
Robert Bastille, HyannisNews.com
P.S. – Tonight’s HyTown Vignette was fortunately not blow sky high… [Press play]
