Off-duty police officer at construction site catches shooting suspect
By Jayed Rahman
Published: December 24, 2015
City police officer Jamie Mejia was posted at a construction site in the corner of Summer Street and Broadway on Wednesday morning. When he heard the sound of multiple gunshots coming from around the corner at about 8:15 a.m., Mejia immediately notified police headquarters, got inside his interceptor, and made his way to the corner of Auburn Street.
Mejia saw a group outside of 87 Auburn Street who assisted by pointing towards Hamilton Avenue. A concerned residents told Mejia the whereabouts of the individual who fired the shots. The officer saw the hooded suspect clad in all black carrying a black handgun.
Tyshon Adams, 27-year-old, began to flee between two houses – 187 and 191 Hamilton Avenue. Officers Gabriel Spallacci and Mohammed Bashir responded and setup a perimeter to catch Adams.
Mejia searched the backyard of the homes and found Adams hiding behind a construction dumpster, according to police.
Adams allegedly attempted to discard the 40 caliber handgun which was reported stolen out of Roanoke, Virginia, according to police.
Adams was charged with gun possession for unlawful purpose, discharging a firearm, and possession of stolen property, according to police.
Officers Salvator Marotta and Joehan Suarez located the crime scene where the shots were fired and collected evidence.
“Clearly the alert officer and teamwork are the hallmark of the success in the case,” said police director Jerry Speziale. “Working together as a team and seeing the situation as it unfolded was paramount to removing a dangerous individual and weapon from our streets.”