Suspect in robberies of elderly in Springfield, E. Longmeadow arrested

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Police have arrested a man who they suspect is behind robberies of elderly people in Springfield and East Longmeadow.

Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney told 22News that Victor Vera (a.k.a. Victor Tirado), 37, of Springfield was arrested Thursday on fugitive from justice and narcotics charges.

Delaney says that Vera will also be charged with robbery and assault on an elderly victim for an attack last Friday on Gillette Avenue. In that incident, Delaney says Vera came up behind the victim and put him in a choke hold, before stealing $400 from him. He says East Longmeadow police believe he is behind other robberies there.

On Thursday, East Longmeadow police spotted Vera (who was wanted in Connecticut as a fugitive from justice) driving a gray Lexus on Harkness Avenue. They notified Springfield police, who ran the plate; tracing it to a Mulberry Street resident.

Delaney says that resident informed them he had loaned his car to Vera, who police discovered is not licensed to drive.

Two Springfield officers saw the Lexus unoccupied in a Six Corners parking lot, and after watching it for a few minutes, they saw Vera get in. Delaney says the police blocked Vera in, and he got out of the car and ran, though the officers were able to catch up. He says that Vera had 25 bags of heroin on his person at the time of his arrest.

Vera is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court.