New Bedford Police Arrest Man and Seize Gun After Vehicle Was Stolen

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — New Bedford Police arrested a man and seized a firearm following a recent foot chase related to a stolen vehicle.

According to police, a report came in just before midnight on October 12 regarding a stolen Kia Optima. It had reportedly been stolen in the city’s South End.

Police said the vehicle was spotted about an hour later by Sgt. Andrew Ryder in the area of the Purchase Street-Weld Street intersection. Patrol units followed the Kia, which eventually collided with a responding police cruiser on Hill Street.

After the collision, two suspects then fled from the vehicle on foot.

One of the suspects was observed a short time later running through the parking lot of New Bedford District Court. He was chased by Officer Cameron Patota, who stopped him on North Sixth Street.

The suspect, identified as Nasir Valera, 20, of New Bedford, was taken into custody. He allegedly discarded a .38-caliber revolver while being chased, along with six rounds of ammunition found on the ground nearby, police said.

Valera is charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.

Police said the identity of the second suspect who fled the crash remains under investigation.