FALL RIVER — A city man was arrested earlier this month for allegedly attempting to carjack a Washington state man at gunpoint, then later trying to grab the service weapon of a Fall River police officer during a struggle in the basement of a home where authorities discovered and seized 99 marijuana plants.
Luis Negron, 41, whose last known address is 559 Ridge St., faces a number of charges including carjacking with a firearm, assault and battery to disarm a police officer, and marijuana cultivation, according to Detective John Robinson.
The charges stem from an incident that unfolded April 13, when Fall River Police Officer David DelValle responded to the South Main Street parking lot of K&S Laundromat for a report of a carjacking, Robinson said.
There, a 41-year-old Washington man told authorities his car battery died and he had been working on getting it operable when Negron allegedly approached while pointing a firearm at him and accusing him of having an affair with Negron’s girlfriend.
Negron demanded the man get into his disabled vehicle but the victim refused, according to police. Negron then tried to start the car himself, then fled when the car wouldn't start.
Robinson said Negron got into a truck driven by his on-again-off-again girlfriend, but not before a witness snapped a picture of the truck’s license plate and provided it to police. Officers responded to the Ridge Street address where the truck was registered, and found the woman who had been driving it.
The woman let officers inside the home to search, Robinson said. Authorities discovered marijuana plants growing in two rooms on the upper level of the residence, according to Robinson.
Officers left, then returned later that day with a search warrant, Robinson said. Police removed 99 marijuana plants from the home, which authorities valued at $10,000.
Officer Zachery Dupere found Negron hiding in the basement, and during a struggle, Negron allegedly put his hand on Dupere’s service weapon, according to police.
Negron was taken to the ground and placed under arrest by officers Chelsea Campellone and DelValle. Officers Tyler Paquette, Eric Pacheco and David Medeiros, and Supervisor Brian Cabral assisted.
Negron was charged with carjacking with a firearm; assault with a dangerous weapon; attempting to commit a crime; assault and battery to disarm a police officer; assault with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery on a police officer; cultivating marijuana, a Class D substance; carrying a firearm without a license; and firearm violation with one past gun or drug crime, according to police.
In 2013, Negron was arrested after detectives reported they seized 50 grams of cocaine from Negron’s pants pocket as well as 11 bags containing 254 grams of marijuana during a search of the Pleasant Street apartment where he lived at the time, from which authorities also seized nine marijuana plants.