Police, troopers honored for 'intensive effort' in capture of fugitive

BOSTON — State troopers and police officers involved in the capture of a fugitive on the run have been honored by the governor.

Mass. Governor Charlie Baker invited the officers involved in the take down of escaped inmate James Morales to the State House to honor them for their heroism Monday.

Morales had been on the run for nearly a week when he was finally captured by Mass. State Police.

“We knew he was out there, we wanted to put him behind bars,” Trooper Joseph Merrick explained.

Merrick and Trooper Brendan Cain were in Somerville when they spotted him.

“It was the right place, right time,” Trooper Cain said.

“Immediately, I recognized him as the escaped inmate from Rhode Island,” Merrick said. “I was able to tackle him with the help of two Somerville police detectives and Trooper Caine.”

Morales had been in prison, accused of stealing weapons from a federal armory in Worcester. He also faced charges of raping a child.

While on the run, he was suspected of two attempted robberies in Cambridge and Somerville.

“Five days’ intensive effort by multiple agencies,” Somerville Police Detective Derrick Dottin said of the search. “For it to come together the way it did, and nobody get hurt -- including the suspect himself -- it can only be chalked up as good work, professionalism.”

Gov. Baker agrees. He honored the agencies and officers involved in the takedown in a ceremony that had those officers and their families beaming with pride.

“It feels amazing.  It feels really good,” Somerville Police Detective Kilsarys Leguisamon said.

Cox Media Group