Police chase ends when car crashes into Taunton home

TAUNTON, Mass. — A carjacking in Plymouth on Monday ended with the stolen car crashed into a Taunton house and the suspect caught by a local police chief.

Anthony Loto, 26, of E. Bridgewater, was arrested after Taunton police say he smashed the stolen Ford Fusion into the home on South Precinct and Seekell streets.

Loto had allegedly stolen the car from an elderly woman at a Plymouth Stop & Shop while her husband, a former Plymouth police officer of 32 years, was inside the store.

“People are running in, telling me she got pushed, (that) somebody carjacked the car and pushed her and stuff. So I dropped everything and ran out,” Robert Webb, the victim's husband, said. “I had two heart attacks, so she thought I was having another one, and so she went back and got out of the car with the keys. He grabbed her by the wrist, pushed her back and took off.”

The victim was shaken up but not hurt. Her husband called police with their license plate number.

State police, responding to an alert that was broadcast, chased the suspect west down Rte. 44, before setting up stop sticks. The suspect tore through that intersection, never stopping.

State police suspended their pursuit, while other local agencies gave chase as the suspect entered those towns.

Middleborough Police Chief Joseph Perkins, who picked up the chase, saw the suspect smash into the Taunton house, jump out of the car and run. The chief grazed the back of the house as the suspect fled, Taunton Police Lt. Paul Roderick said.

“The suspect began to flee and, when he fled, he ran into the path of Chief Perkins' vehicle," Roderick said. "So rather than to strike the suspect, he took an initiative, and he ended up striking the other side of the house himself with his vehicle."

Perkins then jumped out and apprehended the suspect with the assistance of other officers, Roderick said.

Loto was treated for minor injuries before being booked at Plymouth Police Department pending his arraignment Tuesday on charges including carjacking, unarmed robbery and assault and battery on a person over 60.

Cox Media Group