State Troopers assigned to the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) earlier this morning arrested bank robbery suspect BRANDON SIMMONS after a struggle in the lobby of the Homewood Suites hotel on Route 1 in Peabody. VFAS Troopers entered the lobby and located SIMMONS after an MSP Trooper assigned to patrol out of the State Police-Danvers Barracks observed the stolen vehicle SIMMONS was believed to be driving parked outside the hotel. The suspect violently struggled with the Troopers in an attempt to evade arrest but was subdued and taken into custody.
The arrest came a short time after Danvers Police observed SIMMONS driving and attempted to stop him. SIMMONS refused to stop and fled from Danvers Officers and was able to avoid capture at that time. Numerous police agencies began flooding the area looking for him, leading to the Trooper’s observance of the suspect vehicle at the Route 1 hotel.
SIMMONS has been booked at the State Police-Danvers Barracks and as of this time is expected to be arraigned today in Newburyport District Court in connection with a prior robbery of a drug store in that city. SIMMONS will be summonsed to Peabody District Court at a later date to answer to fresh charges from this morning’s incidents.
SIMMONS is also wanted for the prior robbery of a bank in York, Maine. The FBI is the lead investigative agency on that incident and further inquiries about that should be directed to federal authorities.
SIMMONS was the subject of a manhunt in Salisbury two days ago after he crashed a stolen vehicle and fled on foot following a pursuit by police in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He was not located at that time.
