BPD Thwart High-Flying Getaway in Brighton

photo via istock.com/Susan Chiang

Boston Police thwarted an epic, high-flying getaway attempt over the weekend in Brighton.

The man, 39-year-old Fabio Armelio of Medford, was apparently channeling Jason Bourne Sunday morning when he fled from police after allegedly breaking and entering at 19 St. Luke’s Road.

The chaotic scene police describe on their blog, replete with pepper spray and a daring escape via rope swing, is an uncommon one to say the least.

Police say when they arrived at the apartment building after the reported break-in around 11:40 a.m. on Sunday, Armelio fled, “scrambled up a stairwell leading up to the top floor of the building,” then maced a pair of officers “square in the face” as he scaled a ladder to the roof.

“Once there, the suspect, using a rope, swung from the roof into a third floor apartment where, once inside, he physically assaulted the tenant by punching him in the face,” the report says.

Police later arrested Armelio after a “lengthy physical confrontation” in a basement. His charges include breaking and entering, assaulting a police officer, armed home invasion, and resisting arrest.

“The suspect in this case had no intention of going down without a fight and every intention of hurting both police officers and community members alike,” says one supervisor, who was not named in the report.

The arrest follows another bizarre case from the North End, also on Sunday, wherein an alleged thief tried to break into homes in the neighborhood by gallivanting around the tops of buildings and, according to BPD, imitating the Fiddler on the Roof.