Hatchet Found On Somerville Shoplifting Suspect: Police

SOMERVILLE, MA – The suspect in a shoplifting at Assembly Row landed in some more hot water after police allegedly found a hatchet and knife on him during a search. Ralph Milord, 22, of Hyde Park, was arrested Tuesday and charged with stealing sneakers from the Nike store, police said.

Police were called to the Nike outlet at 10:40 a.m. on July 18 for a report of a shoplifting. The suspect was described as a black male, about 5-foot-9, with a beard and tattoos above his eyebrows, one of which was a cross. He was also seen wearing a brown Polo shirt with blue emblems on it, police said.

Surveillance footage showed the suspect enter the store wearing red sneakers, select a box and leave the store wearing white sneakers. Red sneakers were found in the box that the stolen sneakers had been removed from, though police were unable to find footage of the suspect actually putting on the white sneakers.

Approximately 30 minutes later, police found a man fitting the description of the suspect. The man, later identified as Milord, allegedly had an item protruding from his waistband. Police asked Milord if he had any weapons on him, and he said he did not. One of the officers frisked Milord and recovered a knife and hatchet, the latter of which Milord said he used at his job as a landscaper.

The serrated blade of the knife – which appeared to be larger than two and a half inches and was later determined to exceed three inches – was in violation of a Somerville ordinance regulating dangerous weapons, police said.

According to the police report, Milord had tattoos above his eyebrows, including a cross, and was allegedly wearing white Nike sneakers with red and black accents. He told police he had gotten the shoes from Nike and believed they cost $59.99, the same price as the stolen sneakers. Police asked if he had paid for the sneakers and he allegedly told them no.

Milord was arrested and charged with shoplifting by asportation, violation of Somerville's dangerous weapon ordinance and possession of a dangerous weapon.

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