By Jim Clark

While assigned to the Police Department’s Gang Unit last week, a group of Somerville police officers took notice of two males who were known to them at a Glen St. location.

On the previous day, officers spoke with one of the men and offered him services with the Roca organization in Chelsea.

The officers reportedly believed there was a warrant for that other man, Jamal Escobar, of Everett. A check confirmed there was an active warrant out for his arrest.

As soon as they observed the officers, the two men immediately reversed direction and turned left onto Pearl St. They turned left onto Rush St. and ran into a backyard. They were in the backyards between Flint St. and Rush St. Arriving units were advised of the location and the men they were attempting to locate.

One of the officers spotted them in a backyard between Rush St. and Cross St. Escobar was ordered to stop, but he reportedly refused to do so and they both fled through a backyard onto Cross St.

They ran across Cross St. onto Randolph Place. As they ran down the street, they attempted to gain access to a backyard that would have provided them access to Pearl St. Due to the gate having a deadbolt, they were unable to open the lock.

Again, one of the officers ordered Escobar to stop, saying, “Stop running, you’re under arrest.” Escobar ignored the verbal order, according to reports, and ran into the alley to the left of the locked gate.

One officer gave chase down the alley onto Pearl Street, while another ran down Cross Street towards Randolph Place.

As one officer arrived at Randolph Place, Escobar reportedly exited the alley with another officer close behind and clipped the left side of his body off a parked car as he cleared the sidewalk and began running west on Pearl Street.

One of the officers eventually took Escobar to the ground, and after a brief struggle he was handcuffed.

Escobar was subsequently place under arrest on a charge of resisting arrest and on a warrant charge of threat to commit a crime.