Taunton police arrest moped driver after pursuit; recover crack cocaine

TAUNTON — On Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, at about 6:10 p.m., while patrolling near 57 Church Green, Taunton Police Officer Zachary Bowden observed a black moped carrying two occupants, the driver of which, was not wearing a helmet.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Zachary Bowden and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“The moped also did not have a moped registration plate attached to the rear,” Officer Bowden said.

Officer Bowden said he then observed the moped take a right onto Summer Street, pass by the Taunton Police Station, and drive through the parking stalls on right side of the road.

“There were several vehicles stopped due to a red light at the intersection of Main Street and Church Green,” Officer Bowden said. “That moped passed all the vehicles that were stationary and continued to travel on the inside lane and then took a right onto Church Green without coming to a complete stop.”

The moped then headed back in the same direction that Officer Bowden said he originally observed it, by driving in a circle.

“I then activated my emergency lights in the area of 14 Church Green near the intersection of Church Green and Main Street,” Officer Bowden said. “The moped continued to drive down Church Green headed towards Dean Street. I observed both occupants on the moped to look back at me and still not stop.”

Officer Bowden then notified dispatch of his location and said that he was pursuing a moped that was failing to stop.

“The moped then took a sharp right turn onto Church Green and then took an abrupt left turn into 57 Church Green,” Officer Bowden said. “The moped drove past the driveway into the backyard, where I then observed the male operator throw a small black object into the bushes on the right-hand side.”

Officer Bowden said that as the moped approached a naturally wooded barrier, the driver and passenger appeared to attempt to dump the vehicle and began walking away from it.

“As I was approaching the occupants, I asked the male why he threw an object into the bushes. The male operator was later identified as Phillip Coulombe,” Officer Bowden said.

According to police, Phillip Coulombe, 49, is a resident of Church Green in Taunton, MA.

“Phillip at first stated that he threw his ‘gas cap’ into the bushes,” Officer Bowden said. “Phillip eventually stated that he threw a small crack rock that was inside the gas cap into the bushes. Phillip stated that it was only a ‘20.’ Phillip pointed in the direction and began to search the area, but I advised him to stop. Phillip tried a couple of times to search the area and at one point picked up an object on the ground and it was not what he had thrown. I asked Phillip several times to sit down on the log as I waited for more marked patrol units to arrive. Phillip stated that he threw it with the gas cap so he could locate it later. Shortly after, Officer [James] Harding and Officer [Ryan] Wade arrived on scene.”

Officer Bowden said the woman who was riding the moped with Coulombe had fled the area.

“Phillip stated that he just picked her up at the 24-hour gas station (Quality Fuel & Mart – 31 Winthrop Street) and that her name was ‘Candy,’” Officer Bowden said. “Phillip [then] stated that her name was ‘Lauren,’ but was not quite sure on her last name and provided me different names.”

Officer Bowden said he was unable to identify the female based off the names Coulombe gave him using the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database in the mobile data terminal of his cruiser or the Taunton Police Department’s in-house records system.

“Phillip then advised me that he was going to be in trouble because he had a girlfriend too,” Officer Bowden added.

At this time, Officer Harding located the black bag that Officer Bowden observed Coulombe throw into the bushes.

“This was a small black plastic bag with a knot that appeared to contain a hard rock like substance,” Officer Bowden said. “That black bag containing the white, hard rock-like substance was placed into an evidence bag.”

Officer Harding then read Coulombe his Miranda rights and Coulombe identified the white, hard rock-like substance to be crack cocaine, Officer Bowden said.

“Phillip did admit to just purchasing the crack cocaine located in the black bag and paid approximately $50.00 for it,” Officer Bowden said. “Phillip stated that he had just purchased a ‘20.’ A 20 is referred to the approximate weight of the substance and believed to be 0.2 grams.”

Officer Harding then placed Coulombe in handcuffs and ensured the handcuffs were properly secured.

“I also located a crack pipe that had white residue on it that was in Phillip’s pocket,” Officer Bowden said. “I then requested police dispatch to conduct a CJIS inquiry of Phillip via his MA ID #[redacted]. Police dispatch advised me that CJIS displayed his license status to be ‘suspended.’ I then requested police dispatch to conduct a CJIS inquiry of the moped via the VIN# [number redacted]. Police dispatch advised me that the VIN number displayed no results in CJIS, or prior registration history in Massachusetts.”

Officer Bowden then told Coulombe that he was under arrest and placed him in the back of his cruiser. Officer Bowden transported Coulombe back to the Taunton Police Department for booking.

Phillip Coulombe was charged with the following violations/offenses:

• Failure to stop for police
• Moped Violation (“No helmet, no registration, suspended license, and failure to follow traffic laws,” Officer Bowden said.)
• Possession of Class B Substance (crack cocaine)

Coulombe’s arraignment was scheduled for Taunton District Court on Aug. 6, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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