PEABODY, MASS. (WHDH) - A bank robbery suspect has been taken into custody days after leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit in Salisbury, police said.
Brandon Simmons, 34, was arrested after a struggle in the lobby of the Homewood Suites hotel on Route 1 in Peabody on Wednesday morning, according to state police.
Danvers police had observed Simmons driving a stolen vehicle and attempted to stop him but Simmons sped away, avoiding capture, state police said.
Numerous police agencies began looking in the area for him when a trooper reportedly noticed the stolen vehicle parked outside the hotel.
Troopers entered the lobby, where they placed Simmons under arrest, state police said.
On Monday just before 5 p.m., a Salisbury police officer noticed a white van that matched the description of one used in a bank robbery in York, Maine earlier in the morning, Salisbury police said.
The driver, identified as Simmons, struck the officer in the face and attempted to flee, police said.
The officer struggled with Simmons to keep the vehicle in park but Simmons was able to shift the vehicle and drive away, police added.
Officers began pursuing the vehicle northbound on North End Boulevard into Seabrook, New Hampshire, where they were joined by Seabrook police and Massachusetts State Police.
The pursuit continued back into Salisbury, where police say it was terminated due to it becoming too hazardous to continue.
The van continued speeding westbound on Elm Street before striking another vehicle at the intersection with Gardner Street, police said.
Simmons, who is also a suspect in a drug store robbery that happened in Newburyport on Saturday, allegedly fled the crash scene on foot into a nearby residential neighborhood.
The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The state police bomb squad conducted a search of Simmons’ vehicle and a motel room linked to him after he allegedly claimed to have a bomb during the Maine robbery.
State police say both searches came up negative for explosives.
Simmons is facing four warrants as well as charges of larceny of a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, state police said.
He is slated to be arraigned Wednesday in Newburyport District Court in connection with the drug store robbery.
Simmons will be summonsed to Peabody District Court at a later date.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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