"Police officer disarms teenager, police say; 2 men arrested in Charlestown" by Evan Allen | Globe staff October 08, 2014
Boston police arrested two men and recovered a loaded .45-caliber gun after one of the men fought with a gang unit officer who was trying to disarm him, police said.
Gang unit officers were patrolling in the area of a housing development in Charlestown at around noon Monday because of recent drug, gun, and gang issues, when they saw a group of six men along Walford Way, according to a police report.
When the officers approached the group, one of the men, later identified as 18-year-old Leroy Gales of Charlestown, allegedly grabbed his waistband and fled inside 49 Walford Way and locked the door behind him, according to the police report.
One of the officers ran around to the back of the building, entered the rear door, saw Gales inside the entryway, and called out to him that he wanted to talk, the report said.
Is it officer or officers?
Gales allegedly fled up the stairs, and the officer chased him, grabbing his shirt, which ripped as Gales allegedly jerked away. The officer could feel a gun in Gales’s waistband, according to the report.
At the top of the landing, Gales allegedly yanked open a door and made it halfway inside before the officer grabbed him and pulled him back into the hallway. They struggled violently, with Gales trying to pull the gun from his waist several times, before the officer was able to subdue him and take the loaded .45-caliber gun from his waistband, the report said.
Police recovered 23 small bags containing what is believed to be crack cocaine and another bag of what is believed to be marijuana from the floor of the landing where the fight occurred.
While Gates was allegedly wrestling with the officer, police were trying to speak with some of the men in front of 49 Walford Way, according to the report. One of the men, later identified as 19-year-old Dayvone James of Dorchester, put up his hoodie and walked away with his hands close to his sides, forcing another officer to run after him.
When the officer patted James down, he allegedly found a baseball-sized rock in one pocket and half of a red masonry brick in the other. James allegedly gave police a different name and provided an address that did not exist.
Police arrested Gales and charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession with intent to distribute a Class B drug, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Police also arrested James, and charged him with trespassing. The other men were not arrested, police said.
Gales and James pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Tuesday in Charlestown Municipal Court.
Gales was held on $18,000 bail; James was held on $300 bail.
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