Thursday, January 6, 2000 Older Editions

Hostage suspect captured

By Rebecca Lipchitz and Neil Fater

Ruben Alberto Arias, 35, of Jamaica Plain surrendered his gun to police just before 11 a.m. Friday, freeing two women taken from their Fall River apartment and ending a New Year's Eve day hostage standoff that lasted more than seven hours on Route 125 in Andover.

Arias pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon to charges including assault with intent to murder and kidnapping. He will be held without bail until a Jan. 19 pretrial hearing.

Arias allegedly entered his ex-wife's Fall River apartment late Thursday night, and shot and wounded his ex-wife's boyfriend before kidnapping her and her sister.

After the shooting, Arias led police on a chase from Fall River to Andover that began early Friday morning and ended near the Getty gas station at the intersection of Route 125 and Salem Street. Arias apparently pulled into the station to make a phone call around 3 a.m.

John Cote, a co-operator of the gas station, said state police told him that when Arias pulled into the front of the station, a state trooper broke a window at the back of the station and climbed inside.

"(Arias') car was parked right here by the air pump. He was going to make a phone call," said Cote. "The sniper had a clear shot to get him then, but he didn't do it. The state police had the gun pointed at him."

When Arias tried to leave the station, state police cruisers blocked his car.

This led to a standoff that closed a section of Route 125 from Route 28 to Gould Road until nearly 11 a.m., when hostage negotiators convinced Arias to drop his gun and let the two women go.

Police used the Getty gas station as their command headquarters until about 9 a.m. This allowed Cote, and co-operator Huron Escribano, a close look at the negotiations.

"We came at 6 a.m., and everything was blocked off. They trapped the guy right here, about 40 yards away," said Escribano, as he pumped gas shortly after his station was reopened Friday morning.

"They gave him some food and water. The guy was talking on the phone back and forth with police," said Escribano. "Basically, they were waiting for him. They gave him a list -- a list of his options I guess. He smoked a cigarette and then gave up."

The deal that lead to Arias' arrest was formulated by a hostage negotiation team including crisis negotiator Sgt. Stephen Pugsley of Massachusetts State Police and Andover Lt. James Hashem, who provided technical support.

Arias demanded a guarantee that he serve no more than 10 years in prison, and that he be imprisoned in his native Dominican Republic. He also demanded that custody of his two children be given to his mother.

A deal granting Arias his wishes was drawn up and signed by fictitious judge Michael Sherman.

Police delivered the document with a cigarette.

When Arias asked to speak with an attorney about the deal, Essex County District Attorney Kevin Burke told him the deal "held the authority of the judge who signed it."

"It's a ruse," Burke said later at a press conference.

Such tactics are employed in hostage situations, Burke said, but added that he was careful not to lie to Arias in answering his questions.

"Ultimately it was the hours spent by the negotiating team that made him give in," Burke said.

Hashem said police allowed "scheduled breaks" to allow things to cool down during the tense negotiations.

"He didn't want to die is what it came down to. It was a matter of securing his confidence and letting him know he wouldn't be hurt, and at the same time we didn't want anyone else hurt," said Hashem. "It took a while to convince him. He made some demands that we had to fulfill. He wasn't going to give up (at first), but it was a matter of letting him know that was the best way to go."

Among the demands were requests for food and water because, "obviously, it was kind of uncomfortable in the car."

"There were a few times where we had to break because things were getting excited," said Hashem. "It wasn't steady contact."

State police negotiator Pugsley, who spoke directly with Arias, said technical difficulties with negotiating over cell phones made communications difficult until a direct-line phone was used. Once a clear phone line was in place, Pugsley had to convince Arias to get on the phone, rather than using one of the hostages as a third-party in communicating.

Pugsley said his job was to help Arias realize that he had something to live for. Through conversation it became clear that his children were most important to him, Pugsley said.

"Many people in a crisis situation just need someone to listen to them," Pugsley said, who spent time allowing Arias to vent frustrations about his relationship with Santana.

"We had to try get him to let it all out, and get back to his family," Pugsley said.

Threats

Andover Police Chief Brian Pattullo said he was called to the scene at 3 a.m., and worked with State Police to set up command centers and establish a connection with Arias.

Arias spoke only with Pugsley, but his comments were heard by other police and translated for them, Pattullo said.

Police could also hear Arias threatening the women, and told them he would kill them if they tried to leave the car. He also threatened to kill himself, Pattullo said.

"He had a gun and was threatening people with it, so we just wanted to make sure that everyone got out OK," said Pattullo, moments after Arias turned himself in.

"We knew there could be gunfire at any moment. He had already shot someone, and he knew he wasn't going to drive away from there," Pattullo said.

He described Arias's state of mind during negotiations as "strung-out" since he had been kept in the car for at least eight hours by the time he surrendered, and wasn't allowed to leave to use a bathroom.

"He was very confrontational, showing wide mood swings," Pattullo said.

Pugsley, a negotiator with state police for more than 10 years, said many of the negotiating team's efforts are talking people out of barricades or off of bridges, but hostage situations are fairly rare.

Good spot to be corralled

Police say Rosa Santana was Arias' common-law wife, and is the mother of his two children.

Santana and her sister, Anna Calderon, were taken hostage after a standoff at Santana's Fall River apartment that began at 10 a.m. Thursday and ended at 1 a.m. Friday when Santana's boyfriend, Jose Luis Vinales, arrived at the apartment, police said.

Arias allegedly shot Vinales and fled the scene with the two women.

According to police, Vinales was shot twice in the legs. Another hostage jumped out a window, according to Burke.

Leaving Vinales wounded and other family members and his children in the apartment, Arias took Santana and her sister at gunpoint, leading police on a chase from Fall River to Route 24 in Bridgewater, to routes 128 and 93 until he exited in Andover and stopped at the Getty gas station.

Police began pursuit of the blue 1987 Nissan Maxima that Arias took from the scene in Bridgewater around 2 a.m., just after the shooting was reported.

Arias stopped in Brockton and fueled the car with one hand and held the women at gunpoint with the other hand, but still managed to pay for the gas before pulling away, Burke said.

During the chase, Arias was seen holding Santana's head out of the car toward the ground, cutting off her hair with scissors and throwing locks of hair out the window, police said.

Burke said police don't know why Arias exited the highway in Andover.

"He stopped in a very secluded spot. He really couldn't have chosen a better spot to be corralled," Pattullo said.

Negotiations began during the chase over cell phones, but they ran out of power around 4 a.m. Pattullo said.

When Arias was stopped on Route 125, negotiations were conducted over a direct-line hostage phone provided by Lowell Police, set up with the assistance of Hashem.

Lowell Police Chief Ed Davis said the phone runs on a high-powered battery.

"No one (other than police) hears what is being said. It's an isolated phone line," Davis said.

Lowell Police provided the hostage phone, and offered use of their command center van before police temporarily took over the Getty station as their command center. The also evacuated neighbors, and stationed snipers in those homes. (See sidebar, page 19.)

Neighbor Laura Ahern said she was warned by state police that gunfire could break out near their home. Home alone with her two teen-age children, Ahern said she opted to stay but lay low.

"It was creepy, but we decided to stay and try to be calm," she said. State police told her to stay away from her windows, she said.

Neighbor David Tomlinson of Salem Street said he was awake nursing a cold at 3 a.m. when he heard helicopters. He turned on spotlights installed around the house, in case police were searching for a suspect, he said.

He and his wife watched through their windows for a while before going back to bed, he said.