Suspect Gets Stuck in Santa-Like Fashion While Trying to Evade Police

It's getting to be the time of year when millions of children around the world are hoping to catch a glimpse of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas coming down their chimney. But it was hardly a fun, festive holiday experience in the case of a Massachusetts man who got stuck in a chimney while attempting to evade police.

According to the local NBC 10 News affiliate, the incident occurred in Fall River, MA, about 50 miles south of Boston. Authorities were in the process of serving a drug-related search warrant at a home when "two men bolted from the residence on the roof." One of the men leapt from the roof onto a parked car and managed to escape, while the other 33-year-old man climbed into the chimney.

A neighbor who had been walking his dog witnessed the escape attempt and notified police, who indeed found the suspect stuck. "He went down like Santa Claus. I thought, 'Oh boy, he’s going to get stuck in there for sure,'" quipped the neighbor, Jim Medeiros.

Body cam footage shows the man's predicament, who pleaded with officers, who had to chisel him out with help from the Fall River Fire Department and EMS. "Get me out of here, bro!" the man can be heard yelling in the footage.

Fall River police said a man got stuck in a chimney while he tried to flee from police that were executing a search warrant on Tuesday.https://t.co/ZfRfPK8wXe pic.twitter.com/UfMdgnG8vc

— NBC 10 WJAR (@NBC10) December 12, 2024

After he was rescued, the suspect was seen at a local hospital as a precautionary measure and then taken to the police station, where he was booked on several charges, including possession of Class A and Class B drugs. He also reportedly had several outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Officers also arrested a 32-year-old woman inside the home without incident. A third man also managed to escape by taking a more direct route, jumping 15 feet to the ground and fleeing into the night.