Open Beer Bottle, Missing Fishing Permit Leads to Warrant Arrest

An open bottle of beer and a missing fishing permit led to the chase and arrest on Saturday of a Melrose man who had a warrant out on an active felony, according to Massachusetts State Police.

On Saturday, May 11 around 5:45 p.m., Sgt. Kevin Bibeau was walking a foot patrol of the in Winchester when he came upon three people fishing on the shoreline, according to a State Police press release. Sgt. Bibeau greeted them and asked if they had obtained proper fishing permits.

When they told him they didn’t, Sgt. Bibeau noticed an open bottle of beer and a bag that contained several more bottles of beer, which are prohibited on the reservation, the press release said. He asked for their identification instructed them to go to the parking lot to put the beer away in their vehicle.

When walking back to the parking lot, one of the men walked away from Sgt. Bibeau and into the woods, the press release said. Sgt. Bibeau checked for warrants, which revealed that the man who walked off, 22-year-old Michael Braganca of Melrose, was wanted for an active felony on a default warrant.

Sgt. Bibeau drove his cruiser to the main gate, caught up with Braganca and attempted to place him under arrest when Braganca "took off into the woods," according to the press release, scaled fences and ran into a residential neighborhood.

Winchester Police were called to assist and a short time later a Winchester Police officer located Braganca, took him into custody and turned him over to the State Police, according to the release. Braganca was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and an MDC/alcohol violation in addition to his arrest on the default warrant, and arraigned in Woburn District Court on Monday morning.