An inmate made a daring dash to freedom from a transport vehicle on a clogged stretch of Interstate 95, but his bid for escape was fleeting as authorities corralled him back into custody after a roughly hour-long manhunt in Waltham, Massachusetts State Police informed. The fugitive, identified as 20-year-old Victor Pereira of Framingham, gave authorities the slip yesterday evening in a scene that could have been ripped from a Hollywood script, but lacked its staying power.
Pereira, who was previously nabbed by police on charges including assault and battery on a police officer, found his attempts at liberty curtailed on nearby Second Avenue after triggering a large police search with canines and aerial support. According to NBC Boston, about a dozen police cruisers were spotted at the scene where Pereira's short-lived escape ended.
Earlier, the fugitive was said to have broken free amidst a traffic snarl caused by emergency road repairs on I-95 south before Exit 41, as per state police. Traffic had backed up for miles, perhaps offering the temporal window needed for Pereira's escape. Framingham police revealed that they had apprehended Pereira on Sunday following a physical altercation with officers that left one with a minor hand injury. He faced charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, atop the outstanding warrant which police refrained from detailing, as recounted by NBC Boston.
The narrative took another turn when a local citizen, Sam, entered the fray, encountering the shackled Pereira in a parking lot. "I noticed immediately that he was wearing handcuffs, and I looked a little more carefully and it's like heavy duty shackles and like a chain around his waist," Sam recounted in an interview obtained by CBS News Boston. Pereira's muddled request for vehicle entry was denied by Sam, though he did proffer a cigarette, which pacified the escapee long enough for police to make their final move.
Deftly employing a mixture of ground forces, canines, and tech such as drones, law enforcement homed in on Pereira's location. He was swiftly booked into custody and later transferred to the grip of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, casting a new shade on his judicial proceedings, by virtue of a detainer placed upon him by the agency.
