Overview
- Police say a Ford dual-wheel dump truck reported stolen out of Marlborough, Massachusetts was located by an automated license-plate reader in downtown Lewiston just before 8 p.m. Friday.
- Officers found the truck near Bartlett and Walnut streets where the driver pulled into a rear parking lot and, with no clear exit, allegedly rammed a cruiser that was later totaled.
- The vehicle fled down Howe Street and crashed into the rear playground fence of Longley School, disabling the truck and causing an officer to suffer a deep head cut that required seven staples.
- All three occupants were arrested as they tried to flee; police identified them as driver Antonio Moralespijoan, 23, of Marlborough, passenger Angelika Almeida, 20, of Lawrence, and passenger Steven Grossi, 37, of Lowell, and filed multiple theft- and arrest-related charges.
- Lewiston Police are treating the case as part of an apparent cross-jurisdictional crime spree and investigators are reviewing the role of automated plate readers and rapid local response in stopping the suspects.