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Fake SWAT team pleads guilty to assault ...

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Fake SWAT team pleads guilty to assault, robbery charges
By MARLA A. GOLDBERG
mgoldberg@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Three young men accused of posing as a SWAT team last winter to stop cars, frisk the occupants, and steal money from their wallets, pleaded guilty today to charges of assault, robbery and impersonating police.

The men who await sentencing on March 2 are Matthew Hebert, 20, of 659 Prospect St., Chicopee; Matthew Drost, 23, of 40 Munsing Ave., Ludlow; and Christopher Bryden, 21, of 96 Hastings St., Springfield.

In Hampden Superior Court today, Assistant District Attorney David M. Jenkins said he will seek prison terms of 4 to 5 years for Hebert and Bryden, and 4 to 6 years for Drost, who has a prior criminal record. A co-defendant, Barbara Bagg, 20, of 659 Prospect St., Chicopee, was sentenced to two years' probation on Dec. 28 after admitting to assault and battery.

During a series of crimes in Springfield, Holyoke and Chicopee, the defendants dressed in black "like a SWAT team," Jenkins said, wore photo badges identifying themselves as "recovery agents," and carried police baton flashlights, along with pellet guns or air guns to dupe and intimidate their victims.

The crimes came to a stop after a 2 a.m. robbery on Feb. 15 at a rest area on Interstate 91 south between Northampton and Holyoke, Jenkins said. A man whose wallet was emptied of about $230 followed the assailants' sports utility vehicle and got a license plate number, enabling police to track the suspects.

Jenkins dropped kidnapping charges against all three men.

Bryden admitted to six counts each of impersonating a police officer and assault and battery, three counts of armed robbery, two counts of unarmed robbery, and to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Drost pleaded guilty to five counts each of impersonating a police officer and assault and battery, along with three counts of armed robbery and two counts of unarmed robbery.

Hebert admitted to five counts of assault and battery, four counts of impersonating a police officer, three counts of armed robbery, and to unarmed robbery.
 
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