"Southbridge suspect’s crime spree was ‘last hurrah’" by Evan Allen, Martin Finucane and John R. Ellement | Globe Staff October 29, 2014
FRAMINGHAM — A Southbridge man’s coast-to-coast crime spree, which ended Tuesday night with his dramatic capture in New York, was a “last hurrah” that he planned to complete by returning to his hometown and murdering the 13-year-old girl he allegedly raped there in August, State Police said Wednesday.
Since cutting off his GPS monitoring bracelet in September and fleeing Massachusetts, Gregory J. Lewis allegedly embarked on a six-week rampage, raping, robbing, and beating six escorts he hired to meet him at motels in five different states, authorities said.
He is linked to crimes as far west as Oregon and as far south as North Carolina.
During the past several weeks, Lewis allegedly told several people that he planned to work his way back to Southbridge so he could murder the girl, according to State Police Detective Lieutenant Michael Farley. “I don’t think I can speculate on his mentality, his state of mind, but it was almost like he had nothing to lose. It was his last hurrah, and he was going to go out and do as much damage as possible for as long as he could,” Farley, commander of the agency’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, which led the hunt for Lewis, said during a news conference Wednesday at State Police headquarters in Framingham.
Lewis, 26, was arrested in the small New York village of Fort Edward after a chase had him driving his Jeep into the Hudson River.
Once captured, he boasted about his notoriety.
“Don’t you know who I am?” Lewis repeatedly asked officers, Fort Edward Police Chief Justin C. Derway said.
In nationwide alerts, State Police had warned of Lewis telling people that he wanted to confront police and engage them in a gunfight that would end in his death.
Lewis was arraigned Aug. 6 on charges that included statutory rape of the 13-year-old. On Sept. 15, he allegedly cut off the monitoring bracelet he had been ordered to wear following his arrest.
He apparently headed south, and is accused of attacking a woman in North Carolina on Sept. 23. He then returned to Southbridge, where he allegedly attacked his stepfather and stole a 9mm handgun and 200 rounds of ammunition.
Since then, according to State Police, Lewis allegedly raped and robbed women he met through escort services in Kansas City, Mo.; Denver.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; and Westminster, Colo.
Troopers said they expected more victims to be discovered as police along the fugitive’s cross-country route realized that Lewis was involved in crimes in their jurisdictions.
“The people of Southbridge and Worcester County can sleep a little better at night, and Lewis will now have to answer for his crimes,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said in a statement.
Lewis is expected to remain in New York for the near future, officials in both states said Wednesday....
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