Fall River detectives say a quick bluff on a busy south end street was all it took to end a foot chase and pull a gun and suspected crack off the road Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, 22-year-old Jullianni Berrios took off running when members of the Community Action and Suppression Team approached him, but stopped short when a detective shouted, “I’ve got the dog!” There was no K9 unit on scene, yet the momentary pause was enough for officers to catch up and take him into custody. A later search of his bag turned up a loaded handgun, roughly 151 grams of suspected crack cocaine, and more than $1,000 in cash, police said.
Detectives Say One Shout Ended The Chase
CAST detectives were patrolling near Hartwell Street and Rodman Street on Wednesday when they recognized Berrios as the subject of an active firearms inquiry, according to WBSM. Officers removed his cross-body bag and began a pat-frisk, but police say Berrios slipped out from under the straps and bolted toward Plymouth Avenue. The brief chase ended when one detective called out the fake K9 warning, and Berrios stopped long enough for officers to close the distance and detain him.
Berrios’s name has surfaced in local crime reporting before. In January 2024, he was arrested in a separate operation in which officers recovered a Polymer 80 9mm handgun and about 17.85 grams of crack cocaine, along with associated firearm and drug charges, prior coverage shows. That earlier case detailed enforcement activity involving the same suspect in the city, according to Fall River Reporter.
Loaded Pistol, Suspected Crack And Cash Seized
In Wednesday’s arrest, a search of the cross-body bag turned up a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber pistol with a defaced serial number, loaded with 10 rounds, along with about 151 grams of suspected crack cocaine and more than $1,000 in cash, police said. Berrios was arrested and faces multiple counts, including carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possessing a large-capacity firearm and doing so in the commission of a felony, possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number during a felony, trafficking cocaine in an amount of 100 grams or more, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace, per WBSM.
Police highlighted the incident on the department’s social channel, and the case will now move through the court system, where filings and arraignment dates are expected to appear on the public calendar. For now, officers are pointing to the arrest as an example of routine CAST field work aimed at disrupting guns-and-drugs activity in the city before it escalates.
