SOMERSET, MASS. (WHDH) - Two men are facing theft and driving charges after allegedly fleeing from officers, with one man jumping into the Taunton River, following a traffic stop Sunday, police said.
Officers responding to reports of a suspicious car at Somerset Creamery at 1:20 p.m. talked with two men in the car. As the men began to drive away, police allegedly found the driver had a suspended license and pulled the car over, police said.
When an officer approached the car, he allegedly saw the driver holding a handgun before the car sped south on Davol Street into Fall River, hitting 80 mph and running a red light. Officers stopped chasing the car but soon afterward found it rolled over in the middle of the road, along with items believed to be stolen from local businesses, and found the passenger a short time later walking on Route 79 with non-life-threatening injuries.
After being told the driver jumped off the boardwalk into the Taunton River, officers found footprints leading to a sewer pipe under the boardwalk, police said. Later that night, officers responded to reports of a wet person matching the driver’s description in the area and arrested him after a chase.
Kevin Ploude, 33, of Fall River, was charged with assault with a firearm, failing to stop for police, negligent driving, receiving stolen property and driving without a license; and Scott Hazel, 36, of Fall River, was issued a summons for receiving stolen property.
Ploude is expected to be arraigned Monday at Fall River District Court and Hazel will be arraigned at a later date.
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