Thursday, 4:30 PM
Police describe escape and shooting outside Cape Cod courthouse
(Barnstable Police Department)
A Barnstable police office shot Anthony Roberts in the chest this morning after authorities allege he escaped while being taken to court to be arraigned.
By Brian R. Ballou, Raja Mishra, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
BARNSTABLE -- Anthony Roberts used his double-jointed thumb to squeeze out of handcuffs this morning as officers were driving him and three other defendants to Barnstable Superior Court to be arraigned, police said. When the two Barnstable police officers opened the doors to the prisoner transport van, Roberts overpowered the men and escaped, running into the busy pedestrian traffic outside the courthouse, police said.
Police described the ensuing chaos at an afternoon press conference, saying that passersby scrambled for safety when Roberts stole a car and careened around a parking lot. Even Cape and Islands District Attorney District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe, who stepped outside to fetch a cup of coffee, had to duck for cover.
The commotion came to a screeching halt at about 8:30 a.m. when a Barnstable police officer shot Roberts once in the chest and he crashed the green Honda Civic into a brick wall, police said. Sergeant Sean Sweeney said it was not yet clear if Roberts was shot before or after he crashed. Police would not release the name of the officer who pulled the trigger.
Roberts was listed in critical condition this afternoon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, according to spokeswoman Bonnie Prescott. The 22-year-old had been arrested on Friday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, according to his attorney J. Drew Segadelli, who said he has represented him for more than a year on a variety of charges.
Police also charged Roberts with forgery and drug possession after they allege they found stolen credit cards and some marijuana in his possession. Segadelli said police have accused Roberts of a string of recent break-ins on Cape Cod.
When Roberts escaped, he stole the green Honda from a parking lot of the Barnstable General Store, which is across from the courthouse, according to police, his lawyer, and witnesses. Megan Burke, 24, was working at the store when she said there was a commotion outside.
"We heard what we thought was a loud crash," said Burke in a telephone interview. "We ran out the door and saw this green car crash into the wall outside court."
About 15 Barnstable police officers and court officers were running after the car, Burke said. The officers were yelling, "'Get out of the car' with their guns drawn," Burke said. Roberts was bloody and had already been shot, Burke said.
One of the police officers used a baton to break one of the windows of the car, Burke said. A court officer got in the car next to Roberts and waited for an ambulance to arrive. Paramedics pulled the man out of the car and put him on a stretcher, Burke said.
The incident remains under investigation.
(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)
A man is in critical condition today after his lawyer said he was shot by a Barnstable police officer during an escape attempt. The man stole a car, which he crashed outside Barnstable Superior Court, the lawyer said.
