LYNN — A 23-year-old man wanted for pistol-whipping a woman in Lynn in March was arrested last week after he was tracked to Los Angeles, where he was evading capture, state police said.
The Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) relayed information about the man’s whereabouts to a U.S. Marshals task force, which led to the arrest of suspect Hakeem Ricker last Friday, state police said.
Ricker was wanted for an alleged pistol-whipping that took place in Lynn on March 13. Lynn Police officers responded to the scene and attempted to stop Ricker, which prompted a struggle that resulted in injuries to an officer, state police said.
Ricker proceeded to run away from officers and discard the handgun that had been used in the alleged assault. At the time of the incident, Ricker was on probation out of Suffolk Superior Court for another firearms offense, state police said.
In the following weeks, State Police troopers from the VFAS North Team tracked Ricker by conducting surveillance and gathering intelligence, eventually finding information that led them to believe Ricker was hiding in the Los Angeles area, state police said.
On May 7, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force saw Ricker getting into a ride service vehicle on Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles. Members of the task force stopped the car a short distance away and placed Ricker into custody without incident, state police said.
Two handguns were found inside a red duffel bag Ricker was carrying — one of which had been converted to fully automatic — with large-capacity magazines and ammunition. One of the handguns was stamped with the words “North Carolina Law Enforcement D.N.R.”
Ricker was charged as a fugitive on three warrants, one which ties to the pistol-whipping incident and carries charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, unlawful possession and carrying of a firearm, use of a firearm in a felony, committing a firearm offense while having a prior conviction for a violent crime or drug crime, and resisting arrest.
The other two warrants, from separate incidents, charge Ricker with firearms offenses, assault, threats, intimidation of a witness, and violation of a harassment-prevention order.
As of Tuesday, Ricker was being held at the Los Angeles County Jail awaiting rendition to Massachusetts.
