Update – Arrested 11/5/16

BILLERICA — The Billerica Police Department is actively seeking two men in connection with alleged drug use and assault on a police officer on Friday evening.

ERIC OBLENIS, AGE 28, OF BILLERICA, is wanted for Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon to wit a Motor Vehicle and Operating to Endanger after he allegedly struck and dragged a Billerica police officer with a motor vehicle while the officer was seeking to question him in connection with suspicious activity in the area. OBLENIS is known to police.

On Friday, Nov. 4, at approximately 7:41 p.m., two Billerica police officers were investigating suspicious activity in the parking lot of a Rite Aid, located at 467 Boston Rd.

As one of the officers approached a parked van, he observed the driver of the vehicle to be injecting a substance into his arm. When the driver, believed to be OBLENIS, saw the officer, he allegedly threw the needle on the floor of the vehicle and accelerated in reverse, striking the officer.
The officer was dragged by the arm for approximately 15 feet before he fell and the vehicle drove out of the parking lot, heading southbound on Boston Road. OBLENIS is a white male with a slender build. He was last seen wearing a red flat-brim baseball hat and a red sweatshirt.

The vehicle is a green 1999 Dodge Ram Van with Rhode Island license plate IY888.

The officer was treated for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Prior to the interaction with the driver of the van, officers observed another individual exit the Rite Aid and enter the passenger side of the vehicle. This individual was inside the vehicle at the time of the incident and is being sought for questioning only. A surveillance photo of the passenger inside the Rite Aid is included here.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of either individual involved in this incident should immediately contact Billerica Police at 978-667-1212.