Holyoke police: Brian Vazquez-Rivera arrested after trying to hide stolen gun in snow bank

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - Holyoke police have arrested a man who allegedly tried to hide a stolen gun in a snow bank as officers approached.

Police Lt. Matthew Moriarty told 22News that Brian Vazquez-Rivera, 22, of Holyoke was arrested following the incident on Sargeant Street early Monday morning.

According to Moriarty, a police officer on Maple Street heard gunshots coming from the Sargeant Street area around 3:00 A.M. The officer drove over, and found three men on the sidewalk, one of them (determined to be Vazquez-Rivera) was bent over putting something into a snow bank.

Additional officers arrived, and Moriarty says that inside the snow bank, police found a revolver, which had been reported stolen out of South Windsor, Connecticut.

Vazquez-Rivera faces several charges, including discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, receiving stolen property, and possession of a firearm without a license to carry.