New Bedford Police arrest armed robbers after victim flags down officer in south end – New Bedford Guide
New Bedford Police Officers acted quickly to catch and arrest 2 armed robbers after a victim flagged down an officer in the south end of New Bedford. The suspects, Christopher Ferndandes, 39, of 1085 County St. and Edmilson Gomes, 27, of 58 Bedford St. both have extensive criminal histories.
The New Bedford Police Department released this statement regarding the incident:
New Bedford patrol officers arrested two men last night for armed robbery shortly after the crime took place.
On July 26th, at about 10 PM, a victim flagged down Sgt. Kelly Botelho and told him that he had just been robbed at knifepoint by a group of males at the Delano St./County St. intersection.
The victim’s cash and personal belongings were taken, and his cell phone was broken before the males fled the scene.
While investigating further, Ofc. Andy Pereira was able to identify two suspects. Officers began to search the area and were successful in locating both who were promptly taken into custody. EDMILSON GOMES, 27, of 58 Bedford St. was placed under arrest along with his co-defendant, CHRISTOPHER FERNANDES, 39, of 1085 County St.
Both men are charged with armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and destruction of property.
CHRISTOPHER FERNANDES has an extensive history with 29 adult arraignments. His previous convictions include possession with intent to distribute cocaine, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and two separate instances of firearms possession. In 2016 he was stopped by police following a disturbance in the same general area of County St. After fleeing from the officers and resisting their attempts to stop him, he was found in possession of a loaded .45 caliber handgun. FERNANDES was found guilty on the charge of possessing that weapon.
EDMILSON GOMES has a history of 49 adult arraignments on a variety of charges. The majority of these cases were in New Bedford district court where 40 of them were subsequently dismissed. At the time of his arrest last night, GOMES had 4 open cases in New Bedford district court, one of which is an assault and battery.
“I’m proud of the patrol response to this armed robbery and the two arrests that quickly followed. Arresting the same individuals time after time, only to see them released back onto the streets is discouraging to say the least. It’s my hope that with these new charges, the danger these individuals pose to the community and to that neighborhood, in particular, will be acknowledged during subsequent proceedings.”-Chief Paul Oliveira
Ofc.’s Emily Pacheco and Hiram Sanchez were the arresting officers.