REVERE — A Chelsea armed robbery suspect using a false identity was arrested in Revere after a police chase and violent struggle on Monday night.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., Chelsea Police responded to an armed robbery outside Rosev Dairy on Griffin Way. A suspect had brandished a gun and robbed two employees who were leaving with cash proceeds, state police said.
The suspect forcibly took two bags containing more than $40,000, got into a nearby white Volkswagen Jetta with a female driver and male passenger inside. The suspects drove down Eastern Avenue, and one of the victims followed it in his own car, state police said.
The Jetta continued onto Clinton Street to the dead end portion of Lisa Lane. At that point, the suspect who robbed the employees fired at least two shots at the victim’s car that was following him. The victim backed up, left the area, and called 911, state police said.
The 911 call was received at the State Police Barracks in Revere, and a “Be On the Lookout” alert was put out for the suspect car. State Police Sgt. Edward Troy heard the broadcast alert and went to Mahoney Circle in Revere, where he monitored traffic looking for the Jetta, state police said.
A short time later, Troy saw the suspect car coming through the rotary. As it turned onto Shirley Avenue in Revere, Troy pulled behind it and activated his marked cruiser’s lights and siren in an attempt to conduct a motor vehicle stop. The Jetta did not stop and turned right onto Walnut Avenue, where it pulled to the right and stopped next to a playground, state police said.
State police said the male passenger got out of the Jetta and Troy got out of his cruiser and ordered the passenger back into the car. But the passenger leaned back into the Jetta and began to retrieve something while continuing to look back at the sergeant and ignoring his orders to cease.
Even when Troy then drew his service pistol and ordered the suspect to the ground, the man ignored his orders, grabbed a large bag from the Jetta, and ran toward Shirley Avenue, state police said.
Troy ran after him and told the Revere barracks that he was in a foot pursuit with a possibly armed suspect. The running suspect turned left onto Sumner Street, and tried unsuccessfully to open the passenger door of a parked van. When he couldn’t get into the van he kept running up Sumner to a pickup truck, where he stopped, ducked down, put the bag down, and was trying to remove something from inside his sweatpants while looking directly at Troy, who was running toward him, state police said.
The sergeant again drew his pistol, pointed it at the suspect, and ordered him to show his hands and get on the ground. With his free hand, the sergeant also drew his Taser and continued to order the suspect to surrender, state police said.
Instead, the suspect again grabbed the bag and began running. He crossed Sumner Street onto Walnut Place with Troy again in pursuit, continuing to yell commands at him to surrender. On the sidewalk of Walnut Place, Troy deployed his Taser again and struck the suspect with the weapon’s probes, state police said.
The suspect was momentarily immobilized and fell to the ground, but after a few seconds tried to get up and flee again. The sergeant tased him again. After a few seconds, the suspect again regained mobility and tried to pull the probes out. The suspect began violently resisting Troy’s attempts to wrestle him to the ground, state police said.
After fighting the suspect for several more moments, Troy was able to put the suspect back onto the ground. He held him down while two other troopers reached the scene and took the suspect into custody. State police said he continued to resist the entire time.
Troy recovered a Springfield Armory .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight from the suspect’s sweatpants pocket. The gun was loaded with one round in the chamber and two more in the magazine, state police said.
The suspect identified himself as Xavier P. Harbert, adding that he had never been arrested in his life. Troopers recovered the bag the suspect had fled with, a large women’s handbag containing multiple stacks of U.S. currency inside plastic deposit bags, state police said.
Meanwhile, troopers returned to the site where the Jetta had been stopped and found the car gone. It was found a short distance away on Walnut Avenue. More plastic bank deposit bags containing money were inside the car, state police said.
The armed robbery victims positively identified the suspect as the man who had robbed and shot at them. All evidence related to the armed robbery was turned over to Chelsea Police.
The suspect was brought to the State Police barracks in Revere to be booked. He had a driver’s license identifying him as Xavier Paul Harbert, and he said he was a basketball player at Texas A&M University, state police said.
But, after troopers took his fingerprints and submitted them to a national fingerprint database, they learned that the suspect’s true identity is Joshua Kountze Andrews, 31, who has a lengthy criminal history and an open warrant out of Middlesex County for firearm and drug offenses. The shirt that Andrews was wearing was turned over to the State Police Crime Scene Services Section for processing for evidence related to gunshot residue, state police said.
Further investigation revealed that a man named Xavier Paul Harbert holds a driver’s license in Texas. Troopers formed the opinion that Andrews falsely procured a Massachusetts driver’s license using the stolen identity of that person.
Andrews was charged with armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without ammunition, resisting arrest, giving a false name to police, and identity fraud.
He was also arrested on the outstanding Middlesex County default warrant. He was arraigned in Chelsea District Court on Tuesday and held on $100,000 cash bail. Investigation into the armed robbery incident and Andrews’ accomplices is ongoing. Bail on the existing case out of Middlesex County was revoked.