New Bedford Man Tosses Loaded Handgun During Police Chase

Police arrest a man after he threw a handgun into a yard while being chased.

According to New Bedford Detective Captain Steven Vicente, a member of the Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force from New Bedford and a Dartmouth Detective were on patrol in the Bay Village area of the South End when they observed a man acting suspiciously in the area of Grinnell Street and Acushnet Avenue around 8pm Tuesday.

Massachusetts State Police troopers then approached the man, who immediately fled on foot, tossing a loaded handgun into a yard. He was soon caught and taken into custody without incident.

Police say the handgun, a .38 caliber Rohm revolver, was loaded with six rounds of ammunition and the serial numbers had been obliterated.

The man, identified as 21-year-old Jon Corey Sylvia of Union Street in New Bedford is being arraigned today in New Bedford District Court. He faces charges of unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a firearm with obliterated serial numbers.