Man Allegedly Jumps Into Truck, Takes Off With $10,000 Worth Of Lobsters In Charlestown
CHARLESTOWN (CBS) - It was a seemingly routine overnight shift at New England Lobsters in Charlestown on Tuesday, with employees loading the pricey cargo onto a box truck for shipment.
"I'm looking out the window and a gentleman with a hoodie is walking around the vehicle. I thought it was an employee that works with us," said one of the workers who did not want to be identified.
But police say it was 29-year-old Stephen Woodard of South Boston who allegedly jumped into the idling truck at the Terminal Street dock and took off. Ten thousand dollars worth of live lobsters went along for the ride, and the employee feared the worst.
"I didn't want to tell the owner 'Hey, listen, we lost the lobster.' I wanted to know where the guy was heading at least." And they were off, catching up with Woodard a half-mile away on Main Street. An employee had jumped into his personal SUV while others got into another truck and finally boxed him in.
"He went forward a little bit and managed to hit the SUV. We were behind, and he couldn't reverse. He couldn't go anywhere; he was spinning his wheels." That's when the employees got him out of the cab and onto the ground, somewhat bloodied, until police and EMTs arrived, shaking their heads at how desperate he seemed to be.
"How far are you going to get at 2 in the morning with a truck full of lobsters?" the employee asked.
According to police, when Woodard was transported to the hospital he threatened them stating, "I'll blow your brains out."
Woodard is no stranger to the law and was involved in an incident 10 years ago in which he escaped from the back of a sheriff's van outside East Boston District Court, jumped into a city DPW truck and set off a three-day manhunt before being captured. He's back in police custody. Meanwhile, the lobsters, which survived unharmed, have made it to Europe - their final destination.