WAKEFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - Eleven men are facing gun and other charges following an hourslong standoff with police after refusing to provide their information or put down their weapons early Saturday morning on Route 95 in Wakefield, police said.
A trooper in a marked state police cruiser patrolling the area of Route 95 northbound in Wakefield around 1:30 a.m. stopped to help two vehicles pulled over in the emergency breakdown lane with their hazard lights on, according to Mass. State Police Col. Christopher Mason. As the trooper approached the scene, he noticed eleven individuals wearing tactical gear, armed with rifles and pistols.
Openly carrying licensed or unlicensed firearms, whether loaded or unloaded, on a public way such as Route 95 is illegal in Massachusetts, according to Col. Mason. The men reportedly told police they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for “training” and had stopped to refuel their vehicles.
When the trooper asked the men to provide their firearm licenses and identifications, they said they did not have them.
Mass. State Police and other local police departments, including Wakefield and Reading, immediately responded to the scene to provide backup.
As police continued to question the individuals, several of them retreated into the woods with their weapons. Authorities quickly established a perimeter surrounding the woodline and a hostage negotiation team engaged with the subjects.
“At the end of the day, I attribute the successful resolution to this to patience, professionalism and partnership,” said Col. Mason.
Three of the eleven men requested medical attention for pre-existing conditions, according to police. Two have been released and returned to the barracks; one remains under examination at the hospital.
The situation prompted state police to shut down Route 95 between Lynnfield and Stoneham and ask residents in Wakefield and Reading to shelter in place around 5:30 a.m. Saturday. The shelter in place order has since been lifted and I-95 northbound has been reopened.
A YouTube channel called “Rise of the Moors” streamed during the standoff and a man clad in tactical gear appeared on-screen, claiming the group is not anti-government and did not violate any laws. The group’s website describes its members as “Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders.”
State police said the men referred to themselves as a militia and none had a license to carry firearms. Police allegedly found three AR-15 rifles, two pistols, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun and a short barrel rifle at the scene.
Police arrested the following: Jamahl Tavon Sanders Latimer, 29, of Providence, R.I.; Robert Rodriguez, 21, of the Bronx, New York; Wilfredo Hernandez, 23, of the Bronx, New York; Alban el Curraugh, 27, of the Bronx, New York; Aaron Lamont Johnson, 29, of Detroit;, Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket, R.I.; Lamar Dow, 34, of the Bronx, New York; Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin, New York; two men who refused to identify themselves and a 17-year-old juvenile.
All were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, using body armor in commission of a crime, possession of a high-capacity magazine, improper storage of firearms in a vehicle and conspiracy to commit a crime. Hernandez, Johnson, Dow and the 17-year-old were also charged with giving false names to police.
The adults are each being held in Billerica House of Correction on $100,000 cash bail and will be arraigned next week in Woburn District Court.
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