What began as a fight call, led Fall River Police to an arrest on multiple robberies.

On Monday June 4 at approximately 11:00 p.m., Fall River Police responded to the area of 322 Hope Street for a report of a disturbance involving a fight. Officer Tommy Roberts, Guy Furtado and Paul Furtado responded. Further information obtained from witnesses who called police stated that a male in a blue sweatshirt was caught breaking into vehicles.

At the scene, they detained Joseph Almeida, 34, of Mulberry Street. Almeida was being held against a fence by a witness who stated he had seen him break a parked vehicle’s window and was rummaging through it. When confronted by the witness, Almeida attempted to flee but was stopped just as police arrived. Almeida was also observed earlier, swinging a large bag of trash and smashing it off another nearby vehicle causing damage to it. Upon being detained, Police observed Almeida to be matching the description of the individual described by callers.

While investigating this incident, an Armed Robbery was reported nearby at the intersection of Mulberry and Columbia Streets. Officer Roberts spoke with the victim in that incident who stated that a male in a blue sweatshirt, jeans, and baseball cap had robbed him at knife point. A struggle ensued between the victim and suspect. The victim then ran to a nearby neighbor for help. The suspect was still standing in the roadway at which time the neighbor saw the suspect and yelled “Oh my God Joey! What did you do!” The neighbor recognized the suspect from the area as Joseph Almeida.

The victim and neighbor who witnessed the robbery was presented a photo array and ultimately identified Almeida as the suspect.

Almeida was booked and charged with the following crimes:

– 2 counts of Breaking 7 Entering of a Vehicle in the Nighttime to commit a Felony
– Armed Robbery