Armed Massachusetts career criminal sentenced to state prison after shooting at police

A man has pleaded guilty to charges that he was an Armed Career Criminal in possession of a firearm when he fired at police and disrupted public safety for hours, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.

Monday in Brockton Superior Court, Pharoah Yahtues, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of a Firearm, Armed Career Criminal II, and two counts of Attempted Assault and Battery by Means of a Firearm. Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere sentenced Yahtues to serve 12-13 years in state prison, with three years of probation from and after. Additionally, Judge Freniere added conditions that Yahtues receive a substance abuse and mental health evaluation and follow all recommendations of the Probation Department, and to stay away from the Hingham Shipyard area. The Commonwealth recommended that Yahtues serve 14-15 years in state prison.

On January 25, 2020, Hingham Police Department officers responded to 111 Fitzroy Drive for a report of a domestic disturbance. The 911 caller was told to barricade himself in a bedroom, as Yahtues told police, “I have a gun with hollow tips, and I’m going to start shooting through these walls at you.”

A METRO-LEC SWAT and crisis negotiation team also arrived on scene, and eventually the entire apartment building was evacuated. The 911 caller was ultimately rescued by the Hingham Fire Department via a ladder truck. As the SWAT Team maintained a perimeter around the apartment, shots were fired from the apartment window. Yahtues took pictures of police with his cell phone to see their positions, and an apparent firework or other explosive device was thrown out of a window but did not detonate.

Yahtues fired a second time toward the locations of the police, specifically a “bear cat” vehicle behind which two METRO-LEC officers stood. Negotiations continued for several more hours until the defendant surrendered to police. The apartment was searched and a 9mm firearm was found in a ceiling vent. A spent 9mm casing was also found on the floor of the apartment. Both items were tested, and the casing was matched to the recovered 9mm firearm.

At Monday’s hearing, the Commonwealth, Judge Freniere, and defense counsel credited the Hingham Police and METRO-LEC SWAT team with exercising the upmost professionalism and restraint in bringing the defendant safely into custody.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Janezic prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Hingham Police Department, the METROLEC SWAT Team, which included the Holbrook and Norwood Police Departments, the ATF, and Massachusetts State Police.