Man arrested, charged following three separate incidents at Dedham gas station

DEDHAM, Mass. — A West Roxbury man has been arrested and charged after following three separate incidents at a gas station in Dedham.

John Laurent, 35, of West Roxbury, was arrested on Sunday. He has been charged with two counts of assault and battery, trespassing, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

Police say the incidents began on Saturday, when officers were dispatched to Sam’s Express on Washington Street around 9:09 am for reports of an assault and battery on a store employee. Once there, the suspect had left. Officers learned that a customer intervened and shooed away the suspect. Officers aided the victim, gathered evidence, and passed along information to authorities.

Then, at 5:37 pm, officers were dispatched to the same area for another assault and battery report. Officers were told that it was the same suspect, but against a different employee. A Boston police officer did ID the suspect before he fled. Officers were not able to find the suspect.

“Based on the identification, officers proceeded to prepare a complaint application to charge the suspect with assault and battery,” said a spokesperson for the Dedham police.

Then, at 10:44 pm, officers were dispatched to Sam’s for a third time, this time for a stolen vehicle. A customer had reported that he walked away from his vehicle to pay for gas when it was taken. The stolen vehicle was seen being driven on Washington Street towards Boston. Police believed it was the same person as before.

The vehicle was later found at 4975 Washington Street in West Roxbury.

On Sunday, an arrest warrant was obtained for Laurent, who was identified as the suspect. Laurent was taken into custody by the Boston police and transferred to Dedham for processing around 1:31 pm.

Laurent will be arraigned at Dedham District Court on Monday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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