5 Canton Officers Honored For Saving Woman From Armed Invasion

CANTON, MA — Six Canton police officers were awarded Sunday from the Irish American Police Officers Association for their bravery in saving a woman during a 2018 home invasion. Sgt. Paul Digiampietro, Detective Kevin Albert and officers Eric Wade, Johnathon McCourt,J ames Galanis and Sean Goode were given the Meritorious Service Award. The officers came face to face with a suspect wielding a semi-automatic rifle when three suspects broke into a second-floor apartment on Neponset Street last October.

"Most of our work goes unseen as it should, but a job well done to these officers and the many others who help keep Canton safe," Canton Police said in a statement on Facebook.

On Oct. 8, 2018, the officers were called to the apartment for a report of a man walking around with what was described by the caller as a "machine gun." Officers arrived as one of the suspects with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle approached the rear door of the second-floor apartment and a female resident of the apartment climbed out the window in an attempt to avoid detection. When the suspects realized officers were on scene, they scattered in three different directions. Police immediately caught two, and captured the third in the woods within an hour.

The suspects were identified as Drijon Holmes, 18, Josiah Fleming, 18, and Timothy Fleming, 19, all of Boston. They were charged with several crimes, including home invasion and possession of a large capacity firearm. The woman escaped with with non-life threatening injuries.