Brandon Simmons Captured In Peabody After Evading Police For 2 Days Following Robberies, Chase
PEABODY (CBS) - Brandon Simmons, the accused robber who has been evading police for two days, was captured early Wednesday morning in Peabody, police said.
Simmons, 34, of Seabrook, New Hampshire, was wanted for in robberies in York, Maine and Newburyport. He was arrested after a violent struggle in the lobby of the Homewood Suites hotel on Route 1, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Investigators said he robbed a CVS pharmacy in Newburyport Saturday, then the Bangor Savings Bank in York, Maine on Monday morning.
A Salisbury Police officer stopped Simmons in a van just before 5 p.m. Monday, but investigators said Simmons punched the officer in the face before speeding off. Police went after him, but called off the chase shortly before he crashed into a pickup truck and ran away. Multiple agencies searched the area with helicopters and police dogs, but could not track him down.
Danvers Police then spotted Simmons driving a stolen car early Wednesday and went after him again, but he got away. State Police said several police departments "began flooding the area looking for him." A State Trooper later spotted the stolen car parked outside of the Homewood Suites hotel. Troopers found him in the lobby and said Simmons "violently struggled" with them trying to escape.
He was booked at the State Police barracks in Danvers and was arraigned Wednesday on a very long list of charges in Newburyport District Court in connection with the CVS robbery, including assault with intent to murder, larceny of a motor vehicle, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, operating on a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, leaving scene of an accident with property damage, number plate violation, uninsured vehicle, failure to stop for police, negligent operation, disorderly conduct, threats to commit a crime, speeding, marked lanes violation, passing violation and failure to stop or yield.
He is being held until a dangerousness hearing is completed.
Simmons will be also be summonsed to Peabody District Court at a later date to face charges in his capture at the hotel.