Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
A judge has ordered 29-year-old man facing numerous charges for his involvement in a 20-mile police pursuit on the Massachusetts Pike to Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Alejandro Serra has pleaded not guilty to over a dozen charges, including five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and operating with a suspended license.
Serra is accused of threatening and almost running down a man and his young grandson in Boston on Monday. The adult pedestrian had asked Serra to turn down the music that was blaring from his vehicle.
After Serra fled the scene, he was pursued by state police in a chase that continued onto the Massachusetts Pike until his vehicle crashed into three police cruisers in Framingham. Serra then tried to flee from the authorities on foot. At least 10 troopers were involved in efforts to apprehend him. Video footage shows one state trooper punching him.
A forensic psychologist for the court who evaluated Serra to see if he was competent to face charges says that the suspect is delusional, out of touch with reality, and may be a danger to society. At the end of his arraignment, Serra announced to the court that he was Pope Alexander.
Prosecutors say that he has had history of mental health problems and has been committed to psychiatric hospitals in the past. The state committed him to one in 2008.
Serra is being held on $5,000 cash bail for the altercation on Monday and another $5,000 for failing to obey a warrant that required that he show up at the Mental Health Division on June 23. Serra’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer says that his client clearly needs help.
Man charged after leading staties on wild Pike chase, Boston Herald, June 29, 2010
Driver In Mass Pike Chase: ‘I Am Pope Alexander!’, WBZTV, June 29, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Mass Law About Traffic Violations
MassDot Highway Division
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