METHUEN — Mayor Neil Perry and Police Chief Joseph Solomon report that the Methuen Police Department arrested and charged a man and woman with armed robbery and kidnapping last night.
ERIC DEUGARTE, AGE 25, OF METHUEN was charged with Armed Robbery, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Conspiracy to Commit a Crime and Kidnapping.
MEGHAN WOOD, AGE 24, OF METHUEN was charged with Armed Robbery and Kidnapping.
At approximately 10:09 p.m. on Thursday, May 28, Methuen Police were dispatched to a home on Oakland Avenue for a report of an armed robbery. Upon officers’ arrival, the victim reported to responding officers that he had been robbed by two men and a woman.
The victim reported that he had invited the woman, later identified as WOOD, over to his home. When she arrived, the victim exited his home and was allegedly forced at gunpoint by two males into a white SUV. While in the vehicle, the victim was allegedly physically assaulted, threatened and robbed of his personal belongings.
Ultimately, the victim was allowed to exit the SUV and later called police.
The victim declined medical treatment.
Through a subsequent investigation, Methuen Police detectives determined that WOOD had been driving the vehicle during the incident.
A short time later, officers located the SUV and initiated a motor vehicle stop in the area of Tuscany Drive. The two occupants of the vehicle were identified as DEUGARTE and WOOD, and subsequently placed under arrest without incident.
A third suspect is being sought by police and the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The third suspect is described as an adult light-skinned black male with a long ponytail, weighing approximately 155 pounds. Anyone with information about the incident or suspect is asked to call the Methuen Police Department at 978-983-8752.
“We urge anyone who might have further information about this incident to share it with the Methuen Police Department,” said Mayor Perry.
“I’m proud of our responding officers for the effort they put into this investigation to help identify the suspects responsible so that they can be held accountable for their actions,” said Chief Solomon. “We are determined to find the third suspect and are seeking the help of the community in identifying and locating that individual.”
DEUGARTE and WOOD were arraigned Friday at Lawrence District Court and ordered held without bail pending dangerousness hearings scheduled for June 10.
These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.
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