GREENFIELD – The driver arrested at a Goshen restaurant shortly after fleeing the scene of a SUV crash in Ashfield in July pleaded not guilty to seven charges in Franklin County Superior Court on Wednesday and was held without the right to bail.
Joshua O. Acevedo, 20, of Springfield, faces charges of carrying a firearm with a prior violent or drug offense, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of a loaded firearm, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm with defaced identification, and leaving the scene of an accident. He had previously been arraigned in Greenfield District Court before the case was transferred to Superior Court due to its severity. Acevedo was represented by attorney Isaac Mass and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas. Judge Francis Flannery presided over Wednesday’s arraignment.
According to court documents, Acevedo was driving a dark-colored BMW SUV that collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Cummington Road and Plainfield Road (Route 116) on July 21, taking out a stop sign and slamming into a tree. Plainfield Police Chief Justin Litchfield said Sgt. Matthew Miazga clocked the SUV going 73 mph in a 45 mph zone and did not stop for Miazga, going 123 mph in a 35 mph zone when Miazga ended his pursuit. Miazga was subsequently flagged down in Plainfield by a passerby who reported a crash in Ashfield. Miazga then informed Ashfield Police and was the first on the scene, rendering aid and taking statements.
According to State Police Lt. Paul Sullivan, Acevedo fled the crash scene in Ashfield and was arrested at a restaurant in Goshen at 4:40 p.m. He was taken to the State Police barracks in Northampton for processing and the next day was arraigned in district court and held on dangerousness at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction for 120 days, after which time he was held on $10,000 bail.
Acevedo’s female passenger fled into the woods following the crash, prompting a roughly six-hour search that ended at 11 p.m. that night when authorities found the unidentified 21-year-old Springfield woman and brought her to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for facial injuries.
At the intersection of Cummington Road and Plainfield Road shortly before 8 p.m. that night, Ashfield Police Chief Beth Bezio said the search for the missing woman had involved the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing as well as four-wheelers and tracking dogs.
The driver of the vehicle that Acevedo reportedly struck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Bezio said.
Acevedo is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on April 13.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.