By Jim Clark

Police were dispatched to the Starbucks café on Grand Union Blvd. last Thursday on reports that a man was checking parked cars.

As officers entered the parking lot, they were informed by dispatchers that the man in question, later identified as Keith Francey, had been spotted in the lot entering a car that had been reported as stolen earlier that day.

The investigating officers circled and caught up with Francey as he made his way through the parking lot.

Francey reportedly waved for the officers to pass him as they approached the vehicle from behind. The officers responded by waving Francey to go on ahead, but he reportedly kept trying to wave them on to pass.

When the officers refused to pass Francey he reportedly backed up the vehicle into a parking space, whereupon the officers pulled over and approached him on foot.

Officers noted that Francey appeared to looking for them in his rear-view mirror as they approached from the rear. They also noted that he seemed to be hiding something in a pack of cigarettes, which he then placed in his shirt pocket, according to reports.

The officers opened the driver’s side door and removed Francey from the vehicle, placing him on the ground where they handcuffed him.
When asked if he was carrying any weapons, Francey reportedly told them, “A knife.”

The officers retrieved a pocketknife from Francey’s pants pocket, which was reportedly equipped with a window punch/seatbelt cutter.

The cigarette box pulled from Francey’s shirt pocket reportedly contained several tablets wrapped in the plastic wrap from the cigarette packaging. 23 of these tablets reportedly appeared to be Clonazepam tablets, and 2 round blue tablets Marked “V and 48 12” were determined to be 30mg Oxycodone Hydrochloride tablets.

Additionally, a bent valet key was found in the vehicle’s ignition, which the owner of the vehicle said was kept in the car, and a marijuana cigarette was reportedly found in the car’s console compartment.

Fancey was placed under arrest and charges with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, violation of city ordinance possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of a class C drug.