A man with ties to the city, who has avoided criminal charges in the area for almost 15 year, tripped up and was taken into custody Tuesday morning when he drew attention to himself by speeding on Springdale Road.
Officer Michael Bradley reports that a few minutes before 9 a.m. Tuesday he saw van operating at a high rate of speed on Springdale Road and used radar to determine that it was traveling at 45 mph on Springdale Road where the speed limit is 30 mph.
Bradley stopped the van and the operator produced a Tennessee driver’s license.
A check with Tennessee authorities showed that the license was active but a records check in Massachusetts showed that the operator, Kevin Cowles, 33, of 794 Derrick Road, Dandridge, Tenn., was the subject of two outstanding warrants issued by local courts.
Cowles was arrested.
Later that day Cowles, whose first name was spelled Keven in court documents, appeared before Judge Philip A. Contant in Westfield District Court.
Contant noted that Cowles defaulted on an April 3, 1998 pretrial hearing in his court for a charge of larceny of property valued more than $250 which had been brought by now retired Westfield police officer Kenneth Kent and has remained in default ever since.
At that time, Cowles listed an address of 139 Root Road in Westfield.
The van that he was operating when he was arrested is registered to a female party at that address whose surname is also Cowles.
Contant also noted that Cowles has also been in default of a probation warrant issued by Springfield Superior Court on a child rape case since February, 1998.
In setting cash bail for Cowles at $10,000, Contant observed that the “defendant has also accumulated charges out of Florida and Tennessee.”
Cowles will be held at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow until his next appearance in Westfield District Court scheduled for May 16, 2012.
