Police seized 13 mopeds and arrested three suspects during a recent crackdown on Back Bay scooter violations.
Boston cops on Monday were directed to patrol the Back Bay neighborhood while enforcing motor vehicle law violations involving mopeds and motorcycles.
Officers recovered 13 mopeds for various infractions, issued multiple Massachusetts uniform citations, and arrested three suspects on multiple offenses.
One of those suspects was Thomas Gomez-Vera, 21, of East Boston, who allegedly tried to flee officers on his unregistered moped scooter.
“Officers stopped Gomez-Vera to inform him that his moped was unregistered and uninsured and cannot be operated on a public way,” Boston Police said in a statement. “While gathering personal belongings off his scooter, Gomez-Vera started his scooter and attempted to drive away on the sidewalk.
“While trying to evade Officers, his scooter contacted two Officers and after a brief struggle, he was placed into custody,” police said.
Gomez-Vera is facing several charges: assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, failure to obey a lawful command by a police officer, resisting arrest, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
He was also issued a Massachusetts uniform citation for unregistered motor vehicle, uninsured motor vehicle, and marked lanes violation.
Cops arrested two other suspects during their directed patrol. Officers arrested Recep Demirel, 28, of Boston, who’s expected to be arraigned for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and operating an uninsured and unregistered motor vehicle.
Kenan Yeler, 20, of Somerville, was arrested and charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle.
Also on Monday, officers arrested a pair in connection with a stolen moped. Cops arrested Alan Charles, 18, of Brockton, and a 17-year-old juvenile on robbery charges after responding to a person with a gun call at 157 Massachusetts Ave.
Upon arrival, cops found the victim who said he was approached by two males — who demanded that he start his moped scooter so they could take it.
“While attempting to start the moped, the victim stated that one of the suspect’s brandished a firearm, pointed it at him, and struck him in the face with it before they both fled on the victim’s moped,” police said. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The victim tracked his stolen moped with a GPS device, and officers found it in the rear of a building on Beacon Street. While recovering the stolen moped, other officers located Charles and the juvenile suspect on nearby streets.
