DRACUT — Chief Peter Bartlett would like to announce that the Dracut Police Department used information reported by community members to help locate and arrest a man following a series of incidents on Wednesday.
HADLEY R. JONES, AGE 37, OF HUDSON, N.H. is charged with:
- Carjacking
- Larceny of a motor vehicle
- Vandalizing property
- Assault and battery
- Furnishing false identification information to law enforcement
- Two counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle
- Three counts of larceny under $1,200.
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, at about 3 p.m., Dracut Police responded to reports of an attempted carjacking in the parking lot of a business at 197 Merrimack Ave.
Upon arrival, officers spoke to a victim who reported the suspect — later identified as JONES — got out of a parked pickup truck, demanded the victim’s keys, then struck the victim in the face in an attempt to take the keys. The victim declined medical treatment.
The suspect allegedly fled on foot toward Methuen before police arrived. Dracut Police notified Methuen Police and requested mutual aid from a Tewksbury Police Department K9 unit. Officers learned the pickup truck the suspect left behind was reported stolen from a business in Lowell.
A short time later, Dracut Police received reports of another commercial vehicle being stolen from a business at 570 Merrimack Ave. Police located that vehicle abandoned nearby.
A short time later, a resident on Hemlock Street reported seeing a suspicious man, and reported that one of their vehicles had been broken into.
About 5 p.m. another resident reported a suspicious man in the area of the Campbell Elementary School on Methuen Street. Officers arrived at the school and located a suspect looking into the windows of cars. Also at the elementary school, police found a vehicle with its back window smashed out.
An on-scene investigation turned up evidence linking JONES to each of the incidents.
“The officers involved in this investigation did a great job catching this individual, the victims were cooperative, and community members did a great job noticing suspicious activity and communicating with police,” Chief Bartlett said. “This is the kind of community cooperation that helps keep everyone in Dracut safe.”
A bail commissioner ordered JONES held without bail overnight. JONES was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Lowell District Court.
Anyone who believes they see suspicious activity in Dracut is urged to contact Dracut Police at 978-957-2123.
These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.
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