FUGITIVE CAPTURED AFTER LONG HAVERHILL MANHUNT
Suspect wanted for assault, kidnapping
A man wanted on sexual assault and kidnapping charges fled a police stop on Interstate 495, triggering an hourslong manhunt in a heavily wooded area off the highway until he was flushed out by a state police helicopter and captured by police on the ground with a K-9.
State and local police captured fugitive Elias J. Sudler shortly after 2:24 p.m. after an air wing patrol flushed him out of a wooded area near Carleton Street and he was “engaged” by a K-9. Department spokesman David Procopio said Sudler was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Sudler, 27 of Boston, fled on foot after state police pursued a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck, in which Sudler was a passenger, for an inspection sticker violation. The driver, described only as a 35-yearold man from Quincy, allegedly refused to stop for troopers. He is now in custody, according to Procopio. A firearm was also found inside the vehicle, he said.
Sudler was wearing a cowboy hat and a light-colored V-neck shirt and shorts when he fled police, Procopio said .
State and local police blocked off the area of Carleton Street and I-495 in the search. Haverhill Public Schools, meanwhile, which previously announced early dismissals due to the extreme heat, kept students who walk to class in school buildings out of what Superintendent Margaret Marotta called an abundance of caution.
Police posted officers outside the high school and Consentino Middle School, but cleared buses to run and allowed parents to pick up their children.
The manhunt stunned
the town as residents on Carleton Street waited to get home and parents were called to pick up kids.
“Police told me to go into my house and lock the doors,” said Sherrie Leger, 71. “It was scary. I heard the dog barking. I saw the ambulance take him. In this area, you don’t expect it.”
Sudler’s extensive criminal history includes a 2016 conviction for kidnapping, a 2015 conviction for violating a restraining order — both of which he served jail time for — and prior convictions for larceny and receiving stolen property.
He is currently wanted on an arrest warrant out of Suffolk Superior Court charging him with stalking, sexual assault and kidnapping.
Sudler was also placed on probation at New Bedford District Court on June 24, 2016, for kidnapping and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to the probation department. Sudler was also sentenced to probation at Boston Municipal Court on Jan. 16 for resisting arrest; that probation was scheduled to end in March 2019. A violation of probation notice was issued by New Bedford District Court for Sudler, who subsequently failed to appear in court as ordered on April 23. A warrant was issued on the same day.
After yesterday’s manhunt he is now charged with numerous firearms violations, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.
On Carleton Street, neighbors locked up their homes.
“I was getting ready for camping when both of my sons texted me,” said Debra Kinnal, 57. “I came out here to lock everything up. I had my car open, my camper open — great place for someone to hide.
“I’m not afraid,” she added. “I had a rungu (club). If I saw him I was going to clack him and I’d go back to baking cookies.”
At the Tilton School, parents rushed to pick up their children.
“It’s a scary situation,” said Leah Flores, a Tilton parent. “It’s scary to see so many cruisers and police officers. It’s sad to hear. It’s disturbing.”
Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini praised police and thanked the community for its patience.
“People were outside. Nerves were tested. Parents were tested,” he told the Herald. “We understand that despite all the nervousness and despite the heat, everyone did a good job.”