2 Arrested On Gun Charges After Canton Crash

CANTON, MA — Two Worcester men were arrested on gun charges, following a crash on Interstate 95 in Canton, State Police said. Just after 2 a.m., Monday, state troopers received a call about a Mercedes sedan crashing into the woods near the onramp to Exit 12 to I-95 northbound. The caller told police two men, state troopers later identified as Ernest Appiah, 26, and Philip Mintah, 31, were standing around the car, screaming at people who stopped to try to help them.

When police arrived, they found the car 30 feet into the woods with Appiah and Mintah standing outside the vehicle. Police said neither of the men were injured. Neither Appiah nor Mintah admitted to driving the sedan prior to the crash.

Due to the severity of damage state troopers requested a tow truck and searched the vehicle prior to the tow. an inventory of the vehicle. Police said they found a 9 mm bullet laying on the passenger side floor. State troopers brought in a K-9 unit, which found a loaded gun with five rounds in a magazine and another in the chamber, police said. The spot where the gun was located had fresh footprints leading to and from the Mercedes, police said.

Appiah and Mintah were arrested and ordered held without bail until their arraignment Tuesday. Both men were charged with possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, improper storage of a firearm, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and intimidating a witness. Mintah was also charged with possession of a class B substance.