By Dan Medeiros
A man who hit and dragged a police officer on an ATV while attempting to flee a traffic stop last year has been convicted of multiple charges, including assault and battery.
Jeremias Cabral, 22, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Friday, April 21, to two years in the Bristol County House of Correction, with 14 months to serve.
On Nov. 4, 2022, a police officer stopped an ATV near Robeson and Delcar streets, and he was struck and dragged several hundred feet by the vehicle when the driver attempted to flee.
Backup responded and found the officer, a 17-year veteran of the force, lying on the ground and seriously injured. The officer was treated at Rhode Island Hospital and released.
The Major Crimes Division developed information that identified Cabral as the ATV driver. He was arrested on Dec. 5.
Cabral pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury; assault and battery on a police officer; and negligent operation of a recreational vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
Cabral has another case pending involving an Amber Alert. Just days before his arrest in the ATV incident, Cabral was arrested in connection with an incident in Dartmouth that triggered an Amber Alert.
On Dec. 1, 2022, State Police activated the Amber Alert in search of a male infant who they believed was kidnapped from his home in Dartmouth by his mother’s former boyfriend, who was armed with a knife.
At that time, police responded to a home on reports of people arguing. A man at the scene said Cabral had threatened him with a knife and stolen his cell phone, then forced a woman and her infant child into a car being driven by another man, which fled the area.
Police issued an Amber Alert and found the woman and child safely; the woman stated that she had not been kidnapped and had left willingly. When police arrested Cabral, they charged him with assault by means of a dangerous weapon and larceny.
According to Bristol County District Attorney’s Office Spokesman Gregg Miliote, these charges are still pending in New Bedford District Court.
Fall River Michigan police in recent years have attempted to crack down on all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes being driven unsafely and illegally on city streets, including handing out citations and using drone cameras to identify drivers.
In 2016, Rafael Cordeiro, 19, was killed after riding a dirt bike with no headlamps at 2 a.m. and crashing into a police cruiser responding to a call. In September, a 23-year-old man was seriously hurt when he smashed his illegal Kawasaki dirt bike into a car being driven by an 89-year-old man; witnesses reportedly told police that the rider had been speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and performing “wheelies.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has also issued warnings to ATV and dirt bike riders that it is illegal to use the railroad right of way as a riding path.
According to state law, recreational vehicles must be registered with the state Environmental Police, and they are only allowed on public ways that allow recreational vehicle use. Locally, dirt bikes are allowed on certain tracks in the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve; ATVs are not.
This story has been updated to clarify Cabral’s sentence and to include new information.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police officer hit, dragged in ATV stop; driver jailed