NORTHFIELD — It was the evening of Aug. 9 when residents of Northfield got a phone call: “The Northfield Police Department just had a prisoner escape their custody from the Police Station in the downtown Main Street area,” said Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III, using what is referred to as a “reverse 9-1-1 call” to warn residents.
Northfield Police, assisted by police from surrounding towns, Massachusetts State Police with K-9 units and a helicopter scoured the area looking for Christopher Michael Sheperd, 23, of Greenfield, who was on the run for a couple of hours after running out of the Northfield Police Station during booking.
He had been arrested earlier that day after allegedly running from a police officer who discovered he had an outstanding warrant, eventually being tackled and subdued, but the pursuing officer injured his head in the process. Back at the station, during a moment when an officer had his back turned, Sheperd ran from the building, according to Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton. He was finally caught when some golfers at the Northfield Golf Club pinned him up against a car until police arrived.
According to court documents, Sheperd is being held at the Franklin County House of Correction, and is due back in court Wednesday. However, that court date is not for the two wild foot chases he led on Aug. 9. Instead, Sheperd will go before a judge for a pretrial hearing related to 72 charges of alleged larceny, fraud and firearms misuse dating back to the beginning of the year.
Sheperd, on June 12, was arrested on 26 counts of larceny under $1,200; 15 counts of uttering false checks; 13 counts of larceny by check under $1,200; 10 counts of forging or uttering a forged credit card; three counts of attempting to commit a crime; stealing a credit card; larceny from a building; firearm larceny; storing a firearm improperly; and possessing a firearm without a firearms identification (FID) card.
His girlfriend, Kathryn Marquez, was arrested at the same time and for the same charges, after a State Police investigation led troopers to believe they had been stealing from Marquez’s grandfather and his wife since the beginning of the year.
Marquez’s grandfather, who is wheelchair-bound and requires a continuous oxygen intake, had allowed Marquez and Sheperd, who were unemployed, to live on his Conway property since December of last year.
According to police narratives in court documents, Sheperd and Marquez then allegedly stole credit cards and checks over many months from Marquez’s grandfather and his wife, racking up thousands in charges while likely using heroin in a shed on the property. They also allegedly activated a previously unused Discover card by calling the company’s activation line and pretending to be Marquez’s grandfather.
State Police were contacted May 26, and responded to the Conway home due to a report of a missing .38 caliber revolver. Upon arriving, the Conway couple told Trooper Sean Noonan they believed Marquez and Sheperd had taken the loaded gun, and they also believed Marquez and Sheperd had stolen checks and credit cards over many months, forging signatures and using the cards fraudulently.
Marquez and Sheperd were not at the property at the time, and police left to begin their investigation, uncovering video footage and receipts suggesting fraudulent transactions did take place at numerous local stores and ATMs.
Sheperd and Marquez eventually returned the gun, according to police, though without the bullets, and returned to the property to live in the shed. On June 12, police returned to the Conway property, found Sheperd and Marquez, and brought them to the barracks in Shelburne Falls where they were interviewed and arrested.
According to State Police, Marquez admitted to the crimes, but Sheperd said he did not know the credit cards or checks were allegedly stolen. According to court documents, more than $6,000 was allegedly stolen since February.
After being released on bail for a couple of months, Sheperd allegedly violated bail conditions by not complying with drug screening procedures, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
On Aug. 9, Northfield Police Officer Oleg Cobileanschi conducted a traffic stop for speeding in the downtown area. During the stop, the vehicle’s passenger, who Cobileanschi recognized from high school — but could not remember his name — left the vehicle on foot after telling Cobileanschi he did not want to deal with the situation, according to Cobileanschi’s police narrative.
Cobileanschi then remembered the man’s name, Christopher Sheperd, and pursued him after discovering he had a warrant, leading to Sheperd’s arrest and a head injury for Cobileanschi during the struggle to subdue Sheperd.
Sheperd, still in handcuffs, then escaped custody at the Northfield Police Department on foot and was arrested again that evening after three men at the golf course captured him and called police.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.