Multiple suspects are in custody, charged following over a dozen armed robberies involving local businesses in Springfield, Massachusetts.
For the past five months, police say a group of armed suspects were behind a series of robberies, often targeting liquor and convenience stores across the city.
The apparent spree came to an end this week, when officers nabbed several individuals as they appeared ready to strike again.
"Detectives in the Firearms Investigation Unit pulled over that car and a scooter on Wayne Street, right next to Allen Street, by the Valero gas station around nine o’clock on Wednesday evening,” Public Information Officer Ryan Walsh told reporters during a press conference Friday. “They arrested four suspects.”
Officials say the arrests were the result of an investigation into 14 similar robberies that occurred between late-April and mid-September.
With a pattern detected, including late-night timeframes and the use of firearms, police went on to identify several alleged suspects, leading to officers surveilling a home on Dearborn Street in the city's Upper Hill neighborhood.
It was Wednesday, Sept. 18, around 8:45 p.m., when officers noted the vehicle and scooter involved in the case parked across from a gas station less than two miles from the house. Police then "converged on the suspects," the department stated in a news release.
In addition to the arrests, officers also recovered a ghost gun modified to act as a fully-automatic firearm, Walsh says. Ammunition and a "large capacity handgun" were also seized.
The home surveillance also led to police noticing items being loaded into another vehicle while authorities were waiting for a search warrant to be issued.
The vehicle later took off — leading to further arrests and guns seized, in addition to drugs.
"Firearms Investigation Unit detectives pulled that car over on Jasper Street, and they arrested 48-year-old Carlos Resto Sr.,” Walsh continued, later gesturing to two additional guns shown at the press conference. “Inside that car was the rifle and shotgun that you see here, five large capacity firearm magazines, in addition … [to] cocaine, crack cocaine, hundreds of bags of heroin, cash and other items.”
After a search warrant had been issued for the Dearborn Street home, police also arrested a 17-year-old male who allegedly had loaded the items into the vehicle.
That's in addition to another 17-year-old suspect arrested with the group that had allegedly been poised to rob again. Arrested with him were 22-year-old Javahn Resto, 29-year-old Carlos Resto Jr. and 33-year-old Malwin Feliciano.
Springfield Police Superintendent Larry Akers says the arrests were the end result of a lengthy investigation involving the Detective Bureau and Firearms Investigation Unit.
He also mentioned the robbery spree that dates back to the spring likely included incidents outside of Springfield, too.
“It was hard to pinpoint because they were in so many different areas in the city and, also, across city lines, but [officers] put in the hours - the two units got together, used their expertise, and they came up with a plan, and they were able to get these people off the street,” Akers said. “[The suspects] were heavily-armed. They went to numerous businesses and terrorized the clerks and those local businesses, while they robbed and took whatever they wanted.”
Akers said in at least one case in Springfield, suspects left a clerk seriously injured, with most robberies involving staff being roughed up and having their personal items swiped.
No details on the other affected communities were given, with police describing them only as "neighboring cities" out of their jurisdiction.
All six suspects are being held pending a dangerousness hearing, scheduled for some time next week.
Also speaking at the press conference Friday, Mayor Domenic Sarno called on the local court system to "be pragmatic" as the alleged suspects go through the legal system.
Repeating similar calls he's made on judges in the past, he requested those who handle the cases to keep the suspects "locked up."
“We do not want these individuals back on our streets or in our neighborhoods, terrorizing our package stores and convenience stores and innocent people going in and out of those places,” he said.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
In detailing the drugs seized, the department said the vehicle involving Resto Sr. allegedly contained 327 bags of heroin, more than 60 grams of cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana. Also found: a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and Diamondback rifle, along with a firearms laser.
$3,000 in cash and more ammo were also seized.
Feliciano, Resto and Resto Jr. all face multiple gun and robbery-related charges. Meanwhile, Resto Sr. faces charges related to the possession of firearms, drugs and ammunition.
Due to their age, the names and charges faced by the two 17-year-olds arrested were not released.
More information on the investigation, charges and other details can be found here.
