Shortly before 4:30 p.m. yesterday Chelsea Police responded to an armed robbery outside Rosev Dairy on Griffin Way, during which a suspect brandishing a firearm robbed two employees of that business who were leaving the premises with cash proceeds. The suspect forcibly took two bags containing in excess of $40,000, entered a nearby parked vehicle occupied by a female driver and a male passenger. The suspect vehicle, a white Volkswagen Jetta, fled down Eastern Avenue, and one of the victims followed it in his own car. The Jetta continued onto Clinton Street to the dead end portion of Lisa Lane. At that point, the suspect who committed the armed robbery fired at least two shots at the victim’s car that was following him. At that point, the victim backed up, fled the area, and called 911.

The 911 call was received at the State Police Barracks in Revere, and a Be On the Lookout Alert was put out for the suspect vehicle. State Police Sergeant Edward Troy heard the broadcast alert and went to Mahoney Circle in Revere, where he monitored traffic looking for the Jetta. A short time later, Sgt. Troy saw the suspect vehicle coming through the rotary. As the suspect vehicle turned onto Shirley Avenue in Revere, Sgt. Troy pulled behind it and activated his marked cruiser’s lights and siren in an attempt to conduct a motor vehicle stop. The Jetta did not stop and turned right onto Walnut Avenue, where it pulled to the right and stopped next to a playground. At that time, a male passenger got out of the Jetta; Sgt. Troy got out of his cruiser and ordered the passenger back into the Jetta. Instead of complying, the passenger leaned back into the Jetta and began to retrieve something while continuing to glance back at the sergeant and ignoring his orders to cease.

Even when Sgt. Troy then drew his service pistol and ordered the suspect to the ground, the suspect ignored his orders, grabbed a large bag from the Jetta, and ran toward Shirley Avenue. Sgt. Troy ran after him and advised the Revere Barracks that he was in a foot pursuit with a possibly armed suspect. The running suspect took a left turn onto Sumner Street, and tried unsuccessfully to open the passenger door of a parked van. When he couldn’t get into the van he kept running up Sumner to a pickup truck, where he stopped, ducked down, put the bag down, and was trying to remove something from inside his sweatpants while looking directly at Sgt. Troy, who was running toward him. The sergeant again drew his pistol, pointed it at the suspect, and ordered him to show his hands and get on the ground. With his free hand, the sergeant also drew his Taser electronic control weapon and continued to order the suspect to surrender.

Instead, the suspect again grabbed the bag and began running again. He crossed Sumner Street onto Walnut Place with Sgt. Troy again in foot pursuit, continuing to yell commands at him to surrender. On the sidewalk of Walnut Place, Sgt. Troy deployed his Taser again and struck the suspect with the weapon’s probes. The suspect was momentarily immobilized and fell to the ground, but after a few seconds tried to get up and flee again. The sergeant reactivated the Taser. After a few seconds, the suspect again regained mobility and tried to pull the probes out. The suspect began violently resisting Sgt. Troy’s attempts to wrestle him to the ground. After fighting the violent and aggressive suspect for several more moments, Sgt. Troy was able to put the suspect back onto the ground on Walnut Place. He held the suspect down while two other troopers reached the scene and took the suspect into custody, as he continued to resist the entire time.

Sgt. Troy recovered from the suspect’s sweatpants pocket a Springfield Armory .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a laser sight. The gun was loaded with one round in the chamber and two more in the magazine. The suspect was given his Miranda Rights and he identified himself as Xavier P. Harbert, adding that he had never been arrested in his life. Troopers recovered the bag the suspect had fled with and determined it to be a large women’s handbag containing multiple stacks of US currency inside plastic deposit bags.

Meanwhile, Troopers returned to the site where the Jetta had been stopped and found the car gone. It was located a short distance on Walnut Avenue. More plastic bank deposit bags containing US currency were inside the vehicle. The armed robbery victims positively identified the suspect as the man who had robbed and shot at them. All evidence pertaining to the armed robbery was turned over to Chelsea Police.

The suspect was brought to the State Police Barracks in Revere to be booked. He had in his possession a driver’s license identifying him as Xavier Paul Harbert, and he said he was a basketball player at Texas A&M University. However, after Troopers took his fingerprints and submitted them to a national fingerprint database, Troopers learned that the suspects true identity is JOSHUA KOUNTZE ANDREWS, 31, with a lengthy criminal history and an open warrant out of Middlesex County for firearm and drug offenses. The shirt that ANDREWS was wearing was turned over to the State Police Crime Scene Services Section for processing for evidence related to gunshot residue.

Further investigation by Troopers revealed that a man named Xavier Paul Harbert, the false identity that ANDREWS used, holds a driver’s license in Texas. Troopers formed the opinion that ANDREWS falsely procured a Massachusetts drivers license using the stolen identity of that person.

State Police charged ANDREWS with the following offenses:

Armed Robbery; Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon; Assault and Battery on a Police Officer; Carrying a Firearm Without a License; Carrying a Firearm With Ammunition; Resisting Arrest; Giving a False Name to Police; and Identity Fraud.

He was also arrested on the outstanding Middlesex County warrant. He was expected to be arraigned in Chelsea District Court today. Investigation into the armed robbery incident and ANDREWS’ accomplices is ongoing. A photo of the gun and ammunition recovered from the defendant is included with this post.

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