ATTLEBORO — On Thursday, Oct. 5, at 12:38 p.m., Officer Benjamin McAndrews of the Attleboro Police Department was conducting traffic enforcement on County Street, when he observed a gray 2008 Buell Blast motorcycle without functioning brake lights and an obstructed registration plate.
(The account and quotations in this article were taken from the printed Probable Cause Affidavit of Officer McAndrews.)
“It should be noted, the registration plate was unreadable and not discovered until later,” Officer McAndrews said.
The operator of the motor cycle was a shirtless white male with a chest tattoo.
Officer McAndrews activated the sirens and blue lights of his cruiser in an attempt to pull the man over on the area of County Street near where it intersects with Olive Street.
“The motorcycle pulled onto Olive Street and began to accelerate to approximately 60 miles per hour (mph) in a 30-mph zone over the Olive Street Bridge,” Officer McAndrews said. “The motorcycle turned left onto Ellis Street at a high rate of speed.”
Realizing the motorcycle was failing to stop for him, Officer McAndrews turned of the lights and sirens of his cruiser and radioed dispatch to give them a description of the motorcycle and the suspect.
The officer continued traveling on Olive Street before turning left onto South Main Street, where he saw the motorcycle turning onto Carpenter Street.
“[I] turned onto Carpenter Street and began traveling the same direction as the motorcycle,” Officer McAndrews said. “It should be noted [that I] was not pursuing the motorcycle and was traveling at a normal rate of speed without blue lights or sirens. [I] lost sight of the motorcycle in the area of Carpenter Street and Pine Street. [I] continued traveling on Carpenter Street before turning right onto Main Street.”
As Officer McAndrews was passing 17 Martin Street he turned to the left and observed the male suspect, later identified as Justin Belliveau, crouched in the bushes in the backyard of the residence. Next to Belliveau was his motorcycle.
According to court documents, Belliveau, 44, is a resident of 270 Smith Street in Attleboro.
“Justin came out of the bushes and was handcuffed (double locked) behind his back, pat frisked for weapons and placed in the rear of cruiser 26,” Officer McAndrews said.
As he was pat frisking Belliveau, Officer McAndrews asked if he had any sharp objects on him.
“At this time, Justin stated there were several needles located in his backpack, along with a small bag of fentanyl,” Officer McAndrews said.
After hearing this, Officer McAndrews called dispatch for backup. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Arthur Brillon, Officer Jack Corsi, and Officer Chelsea Ribeiro arrived on scene.
Sgt. Brillon requested a tow and Officer McAndrews completed a Motor Vehicle Inventory/Impound Record.
“Justin explained the motorcycle was recently purchased and not insured yet,” Officer McAndrews said. “Dispatch confirmed Justin’s license was revoked for being a habitual traffic offender and had an active warrant for his arrest.”
Officer McAndrews took the needles and small bag of fentanyl from Belliveau’s backpack.
Belliveau was transported to the Attleboro Police Department for booking.
The suspected fentanyl weighed less than a gram.
Belliveau was charged with Operate Motor Vehicle with License Revoked as Habitual Traffic Offender, Negligent Operation of Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Class A Drug (Fentanyl), Speeding Rate of Speed Exceeding Posted Limit, Unregistered Motor Vehicle, Uninsured Motor Vehicle, Fail Stop for Police, and Lights Violation.
Belliveau is scheduled to appear in Attleboro District Court for a partial hearing on Jan. 10, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from October, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
