Police arrest Boston man who allegedly stole car with dog inside, claimed to have COVID and spit at trooper
Hamza Conner, 29, allegedly stole the car from a pet supply store parking lot Tuesday morning.
A Boston man allegedly led police on a pursuit Tuesday in a car he stole, spit on a trooper while claiming to have COVID-19 after he was tracked down on foot in Plymouth, and then defecated in both the cruiser and barracks’ booking area, state police said in a news release.The string of events started just after Braintree police notified local departments to look for a white Ford Explorer that had been stolen around 10 a.m. from a pet supply store parking lot, police said, adding that a Quincy man’s dog was inside the car when it was taken.Nearly an hour later, officers said a trooper working on Route 3 southbound in Kingston was almost struck by the stolen vehicle as it flew past him “at a high rate of speed.”Another trooper farther up the highway deployed a tire deflation device, according to police, and while the spiked strips popped two of the Explorer’s tires, the driver, later identified as 29-year-old Hamza Conner, continued to travel southbound until crashing on the ramp from Route 3 to Route 44 westbound.State police said from there, Conner fled the scene on foot and troopers began searching for him.By 11:15 a.m., a trooper found Conner in Plymouth near Commerce Way where police said he became “unruly and resistant, said he was COVID positive, and refused to identify himself.”“The suspect then spit at the Trooper as he was taken into custody and continued to spit inside the cruiser during transport,” state police said. “He also defecated in the back of the cruiser and in the barracks.”Conner is now facing a slew of charges, including motor vehicle offenses, making threats, witness intimidation, refusing to identify himself, vandalism, and resisting arrest. He has not yet been tested for COVID-19, according to police.State police said a hazardous waste cleanup company would sanitize the cruiser and the barracks, while the three troopers who took Conner into custody and then controlled him at the barracks, donning “full-body personal protective equipment,” would be put on brief leave and monitored for coronavirus symptoms.The dog left in the stolen vehicle was found Tuesday in Somerville, police added, noting that the pet has since been reunited with his family.“At this time we believe the suspect drove to the Boston area after stealing the vehicle and left the dog there,” police said. “We are also investigating whether the vehicle was involved in a crash in or around Boston during that time.”Conner was expected to be remotely arraigned Wednesday in Plymouth District Court.
MSP Arrests Suspect Who Stole Car With Dog Inside; Combative Suspect Spit at Troopers and Claimed to be COVID Positive https://t.co/LZXUjuc6W2 via @MassStatePolice
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) June 10, 2020
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