Chicopee Police: Man with arrest warrant “kicked off his sandals and ran away,” charged with drug trafficking

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Two people are facing drug trafficking charges after detectives searched a vehicle during an arrest warrant on Exchange Street in Chicopee.

According to the Chicopee Police Department, on Tuesday around 6 p.m., detectives with the FBI Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force in an unmarked cruiser observed a vehicle traveling on Exchange Street driven by a man they knew had an active arrest warrant on Exchange Street.

When the driver pulled into a parking spot, detectives activated their police lights and ordered the driver, 25-year-old Richard Rivera from Springfield, to step out of the vehicle. After a few minutes, Rivera got out of the vehicle, kicked off his sandals, and ran away.

The detectives were able to catch Rivera, however during the police chase, a woman passenger got out of the vehicle and walked away. City cameras were used to find her inside a gas station on West Street. She was identified as 24-year-old Prieto Umpierre from Chicopee.

Detectives found a brown backpack containing a large quantity of narcotics during an inventory search of the vehicle before it was towed. Rivera and Umpierre are being charged with the following:

• Trafficking in 18 grams or more but less than 36 grams of Class B Drug (Crack Cocaine)
• Trafficking in 36 grams or more but less than 100 grams of Class B Drug (Powder Cocaine)
• Possess to Distribute Class A Drug (Heroin/ Fentanyl)

Rivera is also charged with resisting arrest.

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