STOUGHTON, Mass. (AP) — Police have caught an 18-year-old man they say wielded a meat cleaver as a weapon to rob a Massachusetts gas station.

Mathew Kiernan, of Sharon, was held for a 20-day competency evaluation at a court appearance Tuesday where he faced charges including armed robbery and larceny.

Police say Kiernan, dressed in black including a mask and gloves, robbed a Stoughton gas station at about 1 a.m. Sunday and made off on an electric bike. He’s also suspected of robbing a laundry and a restaurant, wearing similar clothes.

Police say he was apprehended just after midnight Tuesday when officers spotted a man in black on an electric bike hanging around near a pizza shop.


A doctor says Kiernan had a traumatic childhood.