Wanted fugitive arrested in rush-hour traffic jam in Raynham

NORTON — State Police and officers from Norton and Raynham on Friday arrested a fugitive wanted on firearms and drug charges after a wild rush-hour chase by car and on foot on Route 495.

Thomas Holland of Taunton was arrested in the middle of the highway after trying to run from a car stopped in traffic. He is spending Saturday, his 32nd birthday,  in jail.

At 4:45 p.m., police staking out a hotel in Norton saw Holland and a woman in a car in the parking lot. The woman, who was driving, refused an order to stop. Police blocked the car in on Bay Street at Route 495, but the driver backed into one police cruiser, then collided with another one and sped off. Police said the driver intentionally drove into a Norton Police cruiser. 

The car continued onto Route 495 south, speeding in all travel lanes and the breakdown lane. It left the highway at Route 138, then returned to Route 495 south.

Police said Holland jumped from the car before the Route 24 exit and ran, trying to open doors of other vehicles stopped in traffic. He was arrested in the middle lane of the highway.

The woman, Brittany Pasternak of Somerset, was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and malicious damage.

Holland was wanted in connection with a Manchester, N.H., shooting last September and for allegedly waving a firearm at people on Taunton Green on June 2, then kicking in the door of an apartment to evade arrest. He was also charged on Aug. 1 in connection with a large amount of crack cocaine found in a Danvers motel where he had been staying.

Holland was arrested in the Taunton incident in June after police found him hiding in a shower in the apartment he forced his way into. He was released on bail and failed to show up for his arraignment in Taunton District Court.

Now he is also charged with attempted carjacking and resisting arrrest.

He was taken into custody by the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Sectionn.