MEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) – One of five people arrested following a police pursuit in Medford appeared in court Friday, facing a judge in Somerville District Court.
Wearing handcuffs over a bandaged arm, 20-year-old Justin Bettencourt pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with an alleged stealing spree that police said ended with a crash into a local woman’s fence.
Police in court documents said the incident started on Thursday with a reported shoplifting incident at the DICK’s Sporting Goods store on Mystic Valley Parkway.
Police said an employee told investigators four young men walked out of the store with roughly $500 worth of Nike apparel. According to police, a 16-year-old girl was waiting outside as a getaway driver.
Police and prosecutors said the car was reported stolen out of Belmont earlier in the day.
As the group allegedly fled the scene, police said officers tried to pull the car over. Rather than stop, police said the car continued to flee, prompting a chase along several local streets.
According to court documents, one of the suspects flashed officers the middle finger and appeared to record video of the pursuit on his cell phone.
A prosecutor said the group was “traveling at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic.”
Eventually, officials said, the group crashed into a fence on Alto Drive.
Police said officers detained Bettencourt and a teenager on scene while the other three people ran off into a nearby wooded area.
Law enforcement swarmed the neighborhood and later arrested the remaining three people. Bettencourt was the only adult arrested.
“They ran fast,” said homeowner Suzanne Sarno on Thursday. “They were booking it.”
All five people in this incident were charged in connection with the alleged shoplifting and car theft. The 16-year-old driver was also charged with destruction of property for destroying Sarno’s fence.
The juveniles, two of whom are just 15-year-old, were not identified in court documents. They will be arraigned next week in Cambridge Juvenile Court.
Bettencourt, who prosecutors said has a criminal record and who is currently on probation, was given $1,000 cash bail.
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