A 20-year-old man was arrested on a Boston golf course Tuesday evening after allegedly trying to wrestle his dirt bike away from Boston Police officers who were impounding it, the department said. The man was wrestled into custody. Once in handcuffs, he tried to run anyway.
Boston Police’s Auto Theft Unit was on patrol in the Jewish War Veterans Drive area of Jamaica Plain on Tuesday evening when officers spotted a blue dirt bike being driven without a helmet. They watched the rider park the bike against a rock on the William Devine Golf Course. A group of riders was already there, dismounting their bikes and refueling them.
Officers approached the group and immobilized one of the dirt bikes for impound. That was the moment, the department says, when one of the riders moved in on them and tried to take the bike back. A brief struggle followed.
The suspect was put in handcuffs, helped to his feet, and then he ran off across the course. Officers chased him down on foot. Two dirt bikes were eventually towed from the scene.
The Struggle Over the Bike
According to a release from Boston Police Department’s Media Relations office, officers from the department’s Auto Theft Unit were patrolling the area of Jewish War Veterans Drive in Jamaica Plain at about 8:06 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, when they observed someone riding a blue dirt bike along the road without wearing a helmet. The officers then saw the bike leaning against a rock on the adjacent William Devine Golf Course. Additional people were on the course, the department said, dismounting their dirt bikes and refueling them.
Officers approached the group and immobilized one of the dirt bikes that was subject to impound, according to the BPD release. One of the riders immediately moved on the officers in an attempt to gain control of the immobilized bike, the department said. A brief struggle followed, and additional responding officers helped take the suspect into custody.
The Foot Chase
As officers helped the handcuffed suspect to his feet, the BPD release said, the man suddenly pulled away and took off running at a full sprint across the course. Officers pursued him on foot and secured him a second time. Two dirt bikes were towed from the scene.
The suspect was identified as Bryan Manuel Arias Martinez, 20. He’s expected to be arraigned in West Roxbury District Court on a charge of assault and battery on a police officer, according to the BPD release. He was also issued a Massachusetts Uniform citation for violations of the auto laws.