UTICA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — Utica Police arrested a man on Wednesday, September 6 on weapons and stolen property charges after a traffic stop and a short foot chase.
Officers with the Crime Prevention Unit were on patrol in the city when at approximately 8:50 pm, a person driving a bicycle allegedly pulled out in front of them, almost causing the officers to hit the bicyclist. Officers also noticed several other traffic violations and exited their vehicle to talk to the rider.
When officers approached the rider — 18-year-old Tymere Shepherd of Utica — he allegedly fled on foot in an attempt to evade them. Officers then caught the male after a brief foot chase. Once officers detained Shepherd and conducting a search of him, they noticed a bag slung across his chest. Upon feeling the bag, they allegedly felt an object consistent with a handgun, and further investigation confirmed a loaded nine-millimeter handgun inside the bag.
Further investigation into the handgun found that it had allegedly been stolen in a burglary of a gun store in July of 2018. Since that date, several of the handguns that were stolen in that burglary have been recovered by the Utica Police Department, as well as other neighboring jurisdictions.
Shepherd was subsequently arrested and transported to the Utica Police Department. He is being charged with:
- Second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, a violent felony,
- Criminal Possession of a Firearm, a felony,
- Fourth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, a felony,
- Resisting Arrest, a misdemeanor,
- Obstructing Governmental Administration, a misdemeanor,
- and several Vehicle and Traffic Law violations.
