Raynham armed robber with lengthy history sentenced to state prison in Fall River Court

A 38-year-old Brockton man who, while armed with a knife, robbed a hotel clerk in Raynham last year was sentenced last week to serve six to eight years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

According to Gregg Miliote of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Joseph Pierce pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to a single indictment charging him with armed robbery. The defendant is also awaiting trial for similar robberies of hotels in Waltham and Boston and has a lengthy history of arrests and convictions for larcenies, firearm crimes and narcotics.

On Sunday, October 28, 2018, at 2:00 a.m., Raynham Police were dispatched to the Courtyard Marriott Hotel at 37 Paramount Drive for a robbery. Upon arrival, police spoke with the female clerk, who was visibly upset and broke down crying multiple times. The victim stated she was in the back room getting a folder when a male walked into the back room. The victim told him that he couldn’t be back there. The male took out a knife and said “give me all your fucking money, I don’t want to have to hurt you, but if you don’t give me the money I’ll have to.” Both the defendant and the victim then walked out to the front desk. The suspect had the knife approximately two inches from the victim’s side. The suspect took the money from the cash drawer and asked for other places where there was money. He told the victim to get where he could see her and said “no phones, no cops.” After getting the money, the suspect went to leave. But when he got to the door, the suspect turned around, came back to the desk and cut the phone cord with his knife. He stated “I know hotels have safes, show me where the safe is.” The victim stated she didn’t have access to the safe. The suspect then said “I’m going to have to hurt you if you don’t show me the safe.” The victim ran to the back room and shut the door behind her. The suspect then started pounding on the door and tried to open it. When the victim said she was going to call the police, the suspect fled from the hotel. The victim said the suspect fled in a dark colored four door sedan.

Hotel surveillance video showed the suspect entered the hotel at 1:58 a.m. wearing a black Red Sox hat with a white B, jeans and a black zip up track jacket with white piping around the zipper, white logo on the left chest and white under the arms. On surveillance, the suspect is seen holding a knife. The suspect fled the hotel at 2:00 a.m. Minutes before the robbery, the Walmart at 36 Paramount Drive, which is across Paramount Drive from the Marriott, contacted police to report a shoplifting by a white male wearing a white shirt and a black baseball hat with a white B on it. At 1:25 a.m., a white male exited the store with two iRobot vacuum cleaners without paying for them. When he was confronted by store employees, the suspect went back into the store and the vacuums were recovered. The suspect was observed on video getting into a black Hyundai Elantra with a Virginia license plater. After reviewing the surveillance videos, police believed it was the same suspect in both the Marriott and Walmart incidents. Police ran the registration and learned the vehicle was a rental from Avis/Budget Rental. The rental agreement listed a Brockton woman as the renter of the car. After looking at the woman’s Facebook account, police identified the defendant as the suspect from Walmart and Marriott. The defendant was apprehended at the rear of a residence in Brockton as he attempted to flee out of the bulkhead. During a search, police seized $806 from the defendant, black and white Nike sneakers that the defendant was wearing during the arrest and a black and white zip up jacket (similar to the one in the Marriott and Walmart videos). The hotel clerk also identified the defendant in a photo array.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Sharon Donatelle.

“This is a career criminal who is a menace to society who clearly needs to be kept off the streets for as long as possible,” District Attorney Quinn said.