US Army rocket launcher found inside car, Massachusetts man arrested
SUTTON, Mass. (WWLP) – A Massachusetts man was arrested Monday after police said they found cocaine and a U.S. Army rocket launcher in his vehicle.
According to Sutton Police, a detective was surveilling the parking lot of a hotel about 50 miles southwest of Boston when he came across a suspicious vehicle with a man sitting in the driver’s seat. While talking to the man, since identified as Harvey Johnson Jr. of Spencer, the detective allegedly saw “items typically used in conjunction with illegal narcotics use.”
After a search of the vehicle, the officer reportedly found a small amount of crack cocaine and an M190 U.S. Army rocket launcher. The latter was found hidden among some clothing beneath the backseat.
Johnson was arrested and charged with possession of a Class B drug and possession of an incendiary device.
Credit: Sutton Police Department Credit: Sutton Police Department Credit: Sutton Police Department
Det. Alex Sinni from the Sutton Police Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his first concern after finding the M190 launcher under the backseat of the truck was for everybody’s safety.
“Once we were able to determine it was unloaded, we secured it,” Sinni said. “And then we searched the rest of the vehicle to make sure there were no explosives or rockets, or anything crazy like that.”
Los Angeles-bound flight diverted to Chicago for ‘security concern’
Sinni said the driver of the truck was “pretty vague” about how he had got his hands on the launcher and what he planned to do with it.
“I couldn’t really get a straight answer about it,” Sinni said.
The M190 is a training model of the M72 light anti-tank weapon that was first used in the Vietnam War era. The U.S. Army told the Associated Press it needed more time to look into the situation before providing comment.
The rocket launcher was turned over to ATF agents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
