Former Taunton Man Sentenced After Attempting Break-Ins and ‘Suicide by Cop’

A former Taunton man who attempted to break into two homes and then attempted “suicide by cop” has been sentenced to serve up to a decade in prison.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said Serge Andre, 33, was convicted by a jury in Fall River Superior Court last week on indictments charging him with assault and battery on a police officer with attempt to disarm, assault with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and two counts of attempted breaking and entering.

Andre was sentenced to a prison term of eight and a half to 10 years, followed by three years of supervised probation.

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According to the D.A.’s Office, Andre approached a Mansfield home on December 16, 2018, with a newspaper in a plastic bag. The homeowner and her two children answered the door, and he asked if she got the paper and when she said no, he left. She then called the police to report the incident.

A police officer responding to the report found Andre in a small Honda SUV. “The officer got the license plate, but as he was turning around, the defendant turned in the direction opposite of which he was signaling and fled, almost causing a collision,” the D.A.’s Office said.

Andre then drove to a house in Easton and attempted to use the same newspaper trick to gain entry into the home. However, the homeowner did not respond, and Andre repeatedly tried every door and tried to kick in a sliding glass door. The homeowner called the police, and Andre again fled from officers at a high rate of speed, causing a collision a few miles down the road.

The person whose vehicle was struck got out of his car and tried to help Andre, but then quickly retreated to behind his own car when he saw Andre reach toward the waistband of his pants. The D.A.’s Office said others in the area saw Andre pull out a gun.

Police arrived on the scene and saw Andre go toward the corner of a house and when they encountered him, he pulled out what appeared to be a Glock handgun from his waistband – later found to be a pellet gun – and pointed it at the officers. They in turn pointed their firearms at him.

“(Andre) repeatedly made statements that he wanted the officers to kill him and charged towards them. As one of the officers was attempting to put distance between himself and the oncoming defendant by backing up, he tripped,” the D.A.’s Office said. “The defendant then tried to get the officer’s firearm, causing a physical struggle between him and the defendant. That struggle was only brought to an end when the other officer shot the defendant in the buttocks area. The officers immediately rendered first aid to the defendant and his life was saved.”

According to the D.A.’s Office, Andre had been released from prison just four months prior to this incident, after serving a prison sentence related to a 2014 conviction for two separate armed, masked robberies committed with a similar gun.

“I’m pleased the jury held the defendant accountable for a crime spree that included attempting to break into a woman’s home, assaulting police with a pellet gun and crashing into a civilian’s vehicle while trying to flee the scene. This case highlights the danger the police face every day when they confront violent and uncooperative suspects,” District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said.

“The police were clearly justified in feeling their lives were in jeopardy when the defendant pulled out a pellet gun that looked like a Glock handgun," Quinn said. "At the time of this incident the defendant was on probation for an armed robbery. The defendant is a career criminal who needs to be kept off the street for as long as possible.”