Three people were arrested in Salem late Tuesday night and four guns were seized from their car after Chelsea police tracked a stolen cell phone from an assault on Chester Avenue through Lynn and into Salem, the Chelsea Police Department said in a statement.
Police said a call came in at about 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, from a person who reported being assaulted in the area of Chester Avenue. Officers who responded learned that the victim had been “pistol whipped” by three people, all of them armed, according to the department. The victim told officers the three left in a newer gray Honda Accord and took the victim’s cell phone with them.
A phone tracked across three cities
Chelsea officers tracked the phone as it left the city, moved into Lynn and then into Salem, police said. They also learned the Honda’s license plate during the investigation. Officers passed the live location to Chelsea dispatchers, who relayed it to Lynn police, Salem police and the Massachusetts State Police.
Salem police found the car moving through their city and stopped it, with State Police assisting. Officers seized four firearms and ammunition from the car and arrested the driver and two passengers, according to the statement. The Honda was later towed to Chelsea police headquarters.
Who was arrested
Chelsea police identified two of the three as Carlos Ruben Palencia, 20, of Lawrence, and Fermin Franklin Juarez, 19, of Lynn. The third is a juvenile male from Lynn, whom police did not name. All three were arraigned in Salem District Court on multiple firearms charges, the department said. The statement does not list the individual charges or say whether any charge has been filed over the assault itself.
A charge is an allegation. All three are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What police say they seized
- A .40 caliber Glock 22 fitted with a machine gun conversion kit
- A 3D printed 9mm “ghost gun”
- A .380 caliber Taurus PT 738
- A 9mm Glock 19 with a red dot optic
- A 50 round drum magazine
- Numerous rounds of ammunition
The chief’s statement
“My guys did an amazing job acting quickly and tracking the phone the way they did as any delay could have given the suspects time to get away or discard the phone,” Chief Keith E. Houghton said in the statement. He also credited Salem police and the State Police with finding the car.
“Most importantly the victim did not suffer any life-threatening injuries and no officers were hurt during this highly dangerous investigation,” Houghton said.
The department did not release the victim’s name or age, describe what led to the assault, or give the bail status of the three people arrested. Those questions remain open in the public record as of Thursday morning.