Rochester Police made their first arrest resulting from “Weekly Wanted” postings on the departments Facebook page. Early this morning Rochester Police Officer Adam Brightman teamed up with detectives from New Bedford Police in and effort to arrest 23-year-old Tristian Botelho. The officers conducted surveillance on a residence on Chancery Street in New Bedford and observed Botelho exit the home around 7:30 am and leave in a vehicle. Police stopped the vehicle and took him into custody without incident.
Botelho was wanted in connection with a 2012 case where he was alleged to have stolen checks from a Rochester business and cashed them netting himself thousands of dollars. Police had filed charges for twelve counts of larceny by check over $250 and three counts of uttering a false check but Botelho defaulted on the case in September of 2013 and an arrest warrant issued. There were also three other warrants outstanding for Botelho, two for larceny from New Bedford and one from Freetown for possession of a class B drug.
The capture of Botelho was the direct result of a tip that came in through the departments Facebook page. Botelho was featured under the “Weekly Wanted” postings the department implemented in March of 2014 in an effort to track down individuals wanted on warrants by the Rochester Police. Botelho told arresting officers that he had seen the Facebook posting and has been looking over his shoulder for police ever since.
To visit the Rochester Police Facebook page and see other wanted persons, go to www.facebook.com/rochestermapd