Billerica – The Billerica Police Department is honored to announce the appointment of its newest Police Officer, Jian Yi Xu. Police Officer Xu will spend the next four weeks in an abbreviated field training program where he will be assigned to three separate certified Field Training Officers from the Billerica Police. Officer Xu comes to us from the Springfield Police Department where he worked for the past two years as a full-time Police Officer. Prior to that he spent three years as a Special Police Officer with the Billerica Police and thirteen years with the Billerica Emergency Management Police where he volunteered hundreds of hours serving the Town of Billerica in special events and natural disaster support. Officer Xu holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from Evergreen State College in Washington in the field of Psychology. Officer Xu lives in Billerica with his son, girlfriend and parents. He is fluent in Mandarin and was born in Beijing, China.
Barricaded Subject Investigation Resolved
Billerica – On Friday, January 8, 2021, at approximately 0830 AM, the Billerica Police Department received a frantic call reporting an individual had possibly shot himself in the area of 7 Bridge Street, which is a commercial building consisting of various independent businesses. The caller explained that they were not on site and had been contacted by another witness who was still on scene. Within minutes of the report, police arrived on scene and met with the witness. Police subsequently learned that an armed and emotionally disturbed adult male was currently located inside a mobile home trailer parked on the site. Police were informed by the witness that the involved party had just discharged a weapon while inside the mobile home trailer and their condition was unknown. As police attempted to enter the trailer to check on the well-being of the involved party, they quickly determined the subject was alive, agitated and highly emotional and had barricaded themselves inside the trailer. Due to the obvious safety concerns for the community, which included a bordering residential neighborhood along with a McDonald’s Restaurant abutting the incident location, police quickly decided to issue a shelter-in-place order to surrounding homes and businesses while also shutting down vehicular traffic on Bridge Street. A request for assistance was made for additional emergency resources, including EMS and Fire, along with NEMLEC and the Massachusetts State Police. As part of the NEMLEC response, trained Negotiators were utilized to establish communication with the armed, emotionally disturbed individual, who was barricaded inside the trailer. After approximately 90 minutes of negotiation, the subject surrendered peacefully and was placed into protective custody for transportation to Lowell General Hospital, Saints Campus, for a medical and mental health evaluation. Nobody was injured as a result of this incident.
As a result of the above events, the Billerica Police are actively evaluating potential criminal charges related to the subject’s actions, including possession and discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, in violation of MGL Chapter 269 Section 12E, as well as other potential violations of the Massachusetts General Laws.
Suspects Arrested in Day-Time in Progress Burglary
Billerica – On Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at approximately 10:45 AM, the Billerica Police received a call from an observant resident who reported a potential burglary taking place at 9 Belmont Road, Billerica. The reporting party described seeing a suspicious vehicle enter the driveway and then pull away, shortly after which they observed four individuals attempting to force entry into the home. Officers were immediately dispatched to the area to investigate, arriving within minutes of the call. While arriving on scene, Officers were updated that the four suspects had entered the residence but that two had just fled out of the front door and were headed away from the residence on foot. These two suspects were detained by arriving Officers as additional police units arrived on scene to check the residence. Officers then observed two additional suspects fleeing towards the woods from the rear of the residence. After failing to comply with orders from the Officers to stop, a foot pursuit ensued continuing into a wooded area and across a small water creek where the two suspects were apprehended without incident.
It was subsequently determined that the suspects had forced entry into the home and stolen property, including electronics and a loaded firearm that was legally licensed to a resident living at the residence. With the assistance of Billerica K9 Officer Magliozzi and his partner Skye, the firearm was quickly located, concealed within a snowbank in close proximity to the apprehended fleeing suspects. As a result of the above incident, two adults and two juveniles were arrested and returned to the Billerica Police Department for processing. The four individuals are being held in custody on high cash bail and will be arraigned tomorrow, December 24, 2020 at the Lowell Justice Center in both the District and Juvenile Courts. The two adults arrested are identified as Vonte Harris, 26, of Strafford, CT and Michael Metcalf, 31, of Bridgeport, CT. Both are charged with multiple offenses including Breaking and Entry in the Daytime with Intent to Commit a Felony as well as numerous weapons charges. The two juveniles are also being charged with Breaking and Entry in the Daytime with Intent to Commit a Felony. Their identities are not being released due to their ages, however, both also live out of state. It is believed this was a random day-time burglary that was thwarted thanks to an observant resident who took the time to report suspicious activity.
**All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Any additional questions should be directed to Deputy Chief Roy Frost, 978-215-9653.
Halloween 2020
The Town has been monitoring the COVID 19 situation very closely with respect to the upcoming Halloween Holiday. The Town is currently a yellow (moderate risk) community. This means the Town is averaging less than 8 cases per 100,000 people over seven days (6.9). As evident in the graph above the town’s risk level has increased steadily since September 11th. There have been isolated cases in the schools in remote settings only. This is a positive indicator in that the Town has not had to quarantine large groups in school settings. This is also evidence that the Hybrid model is working and does help to prevent spread.
At this time, the Town is anticipating that Halloween will go on with hours of 5:00PM to 8:00PM for trick or treating. The Town will be posting recommended guidelines sanctioned by the CDC to follow for Halloween.
Suspect Arrested following Report of Gun Shots
Billerica – On Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 1328 hours, Officers were dispatched to the area of Sandy Pond off of Shane Lane in Billerica. The area has been the location of multiple disturbance calls over the last several months, including three separate reports of suspected gun shots in October as well as being the site of a the discovery of a large quantity of cocaine that was discovered in and around the pond back in June 2020, all of which remain unsolved.
Officers arriving on scene spoke with multiple witnesses in the area reporting two individuals running from the area of Sandy Pond towards Putney Circle. An investigation followed which lead officers to 14 Putney Circle, the residence of 18 year old Jared Assetta. After a brief standoff with Assetta, he was arrested and placed into custody for multiple weapons charges, including Illegal Possession of a Firearm, Illegal Possession of a Large Capacity Weapon and Feeding Device, as well as Receiving a Stolen Firearm. He will be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Monday, October 19, 2020. Of note, Jared Assetta is considered innocent until proven guilty in Court.
Any additional questions should be directed to Deputy Chief Roy Frost, 978-215-9653.
Drug Take Back – October 24th
This Saturday October 24, 2020, from 10 AM to 2 PM the Billerica Police Department and Billerica Substance Abuse Prevention Committee will participate in Take Back Day for Prescription Medications. The location is DPW at 250 Boston Road. Please dispose of unwanted or unneeded medications properly, flushing or throwing in the trash is not proper or safe disposal. If you cannot make Saturday, BPD provides a safe disposal bin in the PD lobby. More details from DEA at the link.