At 1:45 AM on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Officer Allison Lucenta was on patrol in the Garden and Colburn Road neighborhoods. Officer Lucenta observed a vehicle travelling at a very low rate of speed on Colburn Road. This same neighborhood was the site of a stolen car pursuit the previous week when Officer Evan Rosenberg, Officer Tana DiCenso, and Officer Tim Barros attempted to stop two stolen motor vehicles that had been taken from a driveway on Arnold Road.
As Officer Lucenta approached the slow moving vehicle, it started to speed up and fled the area. A check of the license plate revealed that the vehicle was stolen from Great Plain Avenue in Wellesley early Monday morning on May 1. Two other vehicles were stolen from Wellesley on May 1, and two stolen cars were recovered in Wellesley, one on Great Plain Ave, the second in Philips Park.
Officer Lucenta attempted to stop the motor vehicle, but the vehicle fled. Officer Lucenta and Officer Scott Wagner pursued the vehicle through the neighborhood, before the car made it to Washington Street and Forest. The stolen car continued down Forest Street and into Needham.
Needham Police joined in the pursuit, which entered Needham Square. Due to the increasing speed of the stolen car, Wellesley Officers stopped pursuing the vehicle for safety reasons. Shortly after the pursuit was discontinued, the vehicle struck a curb while turning onto Highland Ave and heading towards Route 95. The vehicle suffered damage, and had a large amount of smoke emitting from it, which Needham PD then followed.
Needham Officers found the vehicle on Highland Ave and Oakland Street, disabled. Three occupants fled from the vehicle down Oakland Street. One suspect was taken into custody by a Needham Officer as two other suspects fled into the backyards.
Wellesley Officers and Needham Officers set up a perimeter, and Wellesley Police deployed a UAV/Drone to aid in the search. The Massachusetts State Police and Quincy Police sent search K9’s to the scene. Shortly after the State Police K9 began searching, two suspects were located hiding near a shed in a backyard. The key fob from the stolen vehicle was located there as well. Both suspects were taken into custody.
The three suspects are all 15 year old juveniles from Medford, Somerville, and Brockton. They were transported by Needham and Wellesley Officers to the Wellesley Police Station where they were charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle. All three will be arraigned later this month in Dedham District Court Juvenile court, and were released to their parents.
The stolen car was towed to the Wellesley Police Station where detectives will process the vehicle for forensic evidence. The investigation is ongoing at this time.