DUXBURY - A young man from Oklahoma with a lengthy criminal history brought chaos into a quiet neighborhood here Monday night when he tried to force his way into an off-duty police officer’s home and later led authorities on a wild chase, all while armed with a handgun, authorities said.
“The off-duty officer indicated that he and his wife were at home when a white male wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a mask attempted to gain entry into their home,’’ said Douglas Humphrey, Plymouth assistant district attorney, during Brett T. Roderick’s arraignment Tuesday morning.
“They observed a semi-automatic handgun in his hand. He indicated to them, ‘Hurry up, let me in, it’s cold.’ ’’
Roderick allegedly fled the house after the officer shut the door. Police who responded to a 911 call from the officer’s house on Deer Path Trail later spotted the suspect attempting to dump the weapon in a sewage drain on Temple Street, police said.
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Chased into a heavily wooded area nearby, Roderick, 19, allegedly fired shots in the direction of two Duxbury police officers in pursuit. Police did not return fire because they were unable to see through thick fog.
After a manhunt lasting several hours, Trooper Allison Powell of the State Police spotted the suspect in a swamp off Route 3, said David Procopio, State Police spokesman.
He said the trooper, along with Duxbury police officers, took the man into custody.
State Police K-9 units then conducted a search for the weapon, reportedly a silver semiautomatic pistol, and at about 3 a.m. found a pistol holster, but no gun, Procopio said.
According to a police report, Roderick told officers he was in the neighborhood to meet up with a friend and smoke marijuana. He allegedly said he met the friend and that while they were walking on Temple Street, a car pulled up and someone yelled out to them. Roderick said he and his friend fled out of fear, not knowing who the occupant of the car was.
But police interviewed the friend Roderick named, and that person told police he had not seen Roderick in over three years.
Roderick had spent several years in the South Shore area before his family moved to Wagoner, Okla. He returned here two weeks ago to attend a family funeral Saturday, Valerie Aho, Roderick’s mother, said after the arraignment.
But authorities in Oklahoma said Roderick violated his parole by leaving that state.
In addition to a multitude of charges lodged Tuesday in Plymouth District Court, including two counts of armed assault to murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, Roderick was also charged here with being a fugitive from justice for the probation violation. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Plymouth County judge Brian Gilligan ordered Roderick held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on May 25.
“He can be bad, and when he puts himself in these types of situations, he can be very dangerous,’’ said Paulette Caskey, a detective with the Wagoner, Okla., Police Department.
Caskey said she has investigated Roderick in the past, including for armed robberies in Wagoner County that eventually sent him to prison on Feb. 16, 2010.
Roderick was paroled after serving less than two years of a 15-year sentence. But he is a suspect in a recent larceny from a retail store, Caskey said.
Aho said that she talked with her son Tuesday morning and that he expressed shock at the attention his case has drawn.