Shots fired in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood yields two arrests, recovery of illegal handgun
November 28, 2008 07:58AM
By George Graham
The Republican Newsroom © 2008 MassLive.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — An illegal handgun is off the streets thanks to the Springfield Police Department's new audio surveillance tool and the quick response of two officers Friday.
The surveillance tool, known as ShotSpotter, alerted police to multiple gunshots fired at Ozark and Grand streets shortly after 1:10 a.m., Lt. Norman Charest said. Police were already on their way to the scene when 911 calls started coming in some 30 to 60 seconds later to report the sound of gunshots, Charest said.
"That may have made the difference," Charest said of the ensuing arrests made by police when they arrived at the scene and stopped a car that had just started to pull away.
Police, after stopping the car, could smell spent gunpowder inside and recovered a loaded Llama .45-caliber handgun.
"There was ammunition in the clip and a round in the chamber," Charest said.
Nicholas Coffman, 19, of 85 Walnut St., and Jeremy Jenkins, 18, of 172 Northampton St., were charged with possession of a firearm in a felony, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and possession of ammunition without an FID card, police documents state.
Police are still attempting to determine what the shots were fired at. Spent shell casings have yet to be recovered and there was no immediate evidence of damage from bullets.
Charest praised the quick work of officers Felix Perez and Darrin Fitzpatrick. "That was a quick response by us," he said.
Police installed the ShotSpotter system in July in high-crime neighborhoods. At a cost of $450,000, the city purchased 62 audio sensors and the operating software from ShotSpotter Inc., a private company based in California.
The Republican Newsroom © 2008 MassLive.com LLC. All Rights Reserved.
SOURCE: MassLive.com
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