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Today, July 11, 2023, the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) arrested HERNAN AYBAR ROMERO, 24, of Lawrence who was wanted for a violent assault on an MSP Trooper on I-495 in Tewksbury late last week.
A Trooper stopped AYBAR ROMERO on the night of Friday July 7, 2023, for motor vehicle violations, and subsequently determined that AYBAR ROMERO had four outstanding warrants for his arrest, including for charges of trafficking in heroin/morphine/opium/ fentanyl (100 grams or more). After exiting his vehicle, AYBAR ROMERO became violent and assaulted the Trooper as he was being put into handcuffs. The suspect was able to re-enter his vehicle and sped away. The Trooper was later treated and released from Lowell General Hospital.
An exhaustive investigation by VFAS, the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Essex District Attorney’s Office, the State Police Critical Incident Technical Investigations Unit, Commonwealth Watch Center, and State Police Troop A tracked AYBAR ROMERO to an apartment in the Town of Lawrence. AYBAR ROMERO is currently being held pending arraignment on the following additional charges:
1. Assault and battery on a police officer;
2. Assault with a dangerous weapon;
3. Resisting arrest;
4. Malicious destruction of property over $1,200;
5. Refusing to identify himself to police;
6. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle;
7. Attaching plates;
8. Operating with a suspended/revoked registration;
9. Operating an uninsured motor vehicle; and
10. No inspection sticker.
That violent attack came on the heels of a vehicular assault of a Trooper last Wednesday, July 5, 2023, on the I-95 Exit 57 off ramp in Wakefield, whereby the operator of a motorcycle attempted to run over a Trooper who had approached him on foot. The Trooper approached the motorcyclist after observing him operating erratically on I-95 and repeatedly ordered him to turn off the bike’s engine and dismount. The operator repeatedly refused to comply – at one point turning the bike’s ignition on again after it had been shut off – and then drove forward with the Trooper in front of the handlebars and front wheel. The Trooper was able to disengage from the motorcycle as it continued forward, allowing him to narrowly avoid being hit by a pickup truck passing through the intersection. Video of the incident is posted below.
On Friday, July 7, 2023, Troop A and members of the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office arrested COLIN JAMES WEBB, 19, of Reading for the assault. WEBB was charged with the following:
1. Assault and battery on a police officer;
2. Assault with a dangerous weapon;
3. Refusing to identify himself to police;
4. Negligent operation of a motor vehicle;
5. Number plate violation;
6. Speeding;
7. Failure to stop/yield at traffic signals;
8. Marked lanes violation;
9. Failure to yield at an intersection;
10. Breakdown lane violation;
11. Missing number plate; and
12. Failure to stop for police.
“These incidents were brazen, and deliberately violent assaults perpetrated by motivated offenders on public servants who were engaged in their duties to protect our roads, our communities, our citizens, and our visitors,” said Colonel John Mawn Jr., Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. “We work very hard to ensure that violence directed against any victim – police officer or civilian – is answered with a swift and thorough response, and that was exactly what was done in these two investigations.”