An 18-year-old Lowell man is being held without bail after police say he struck a 49-year-old man in the face with a handgun and fired a single round into the air outside a Third Street residence, then fled through a string of backyards where children were playing nearby. Jadus Andujar was tracked down shortly after the Sept. 19 confrontation and taken into custody at gunpoint.
According to the Lowell Sun, the confrontation happened outside a home on Third Street involving Andujar and a 49-year-old Lowell man, whose 22-year-old daughter was also present. Police say Andujar struck the victim in the face with a handgun before firing a single round into the air in front of the residence, per the police report cited by the outlet.
Chase Through Backyards Alarms Neighbors
After the shooting, Andujar fled through numerous backyards, alarming residents as he ran through their properties. Per Lowell police, children who were playing on a nearby backyard playground area screamed while chasing Andujar. Officers ultimately located Andujar on Tenth Street and took him into custody at gunpoint.
Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun in the front yard of a home in the 50 block of Varnum Street, containing two rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber. Police also found a single 9 mm shell casing in the roadway in front of the victim's home. The victim identified Andujar during a show-up procedure, the report notes.
Witness Refused to Cooperate, Ring Camera Captured Clip
The victim's 22-year-old daughter refused to cooperate with police, who told her that her cellphone would be seized pending a search warrant. A neighbor's Ring camera captured a 20-second clip before the shooting that showed a second man speaking with the woman and shaking hands, though that man's identity was not established.
Andujar was transported to Lowell General Hospital's Saints campus, where he was treated for a possible foot sprain. He was arraigned Monday in Lowell District Court, where he was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, unlawful possession of ammunition, and disorderly conduct.
Held Without Bail Pending Dangerousness Hearing
The Middlesex District Attorney's Office requested that Andujar be held without bail, and a judge agreed, deeming him a threat to public safety and ordering him held pending a dangerousness hearing under the state's pretrial detention statute. That law, Massachusetts General Laws chapter 276, section 58A, allows prosecutors to seek an order of pretrial detention or release on conditions for qualifying felony offenses based on dangerousness. Andujar is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 13.
The charge of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building falls under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 269, section 12E, which addresses firing a weapon near a dwelling or other building in use, subject to a stated consent exception.
Pattern of Pending Cases and a Revoked Release
Andujar had pending cases out of Lowell that included failing to stop for police, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and operating a motor vehicle without a license, according to the Lowell Sun's report. Those cases stem from earlier incidents in which police observed Andujar driving on School Street on Aug. 14 despite having a suspended license — he had been arrested for driving with a suspended license just a day earlier, on Aug. 13.
Per Lowell police, Andujar allegedly sped up after officers attempted to pull him over, driving through the intersection of School and Westford streets, swerving around multiple vehicles, and traveling in the wrong lane numerous times to pass cars at an extremely high rate of speed before police terminated the pursuit. Officers say Andujar had told them that if he ever had anything illegal, he would not stop for police. He was arrested on a warrant on Aug. 22 and taken into custody without incident after getting into a car on Hildreth Street.
A court had released Andujar before trial in that earlier case, but the court revoked his pretrial release following the shooting and firearm allegations from the Third Street confrontation. The Lowell Sun also reported that Andujar has a juvenile record that includes another pending charge, and that he had already turned 18 in November.
