2 Face Weapons Charges Following Medford Crash

MEDFORD, MA — Two men face weapons charges following a crash that led to a Massachusetts State Police cruiser being struck from behind on I-93. State police said the pair were in a 2003 Toyota Corolla that had been driving erratically and crashed into the median near Exit 33 in Medford around 1:20 a.m. Thursday.

A responding state trooper was about to get out of his cruiser to check on the people inside when the car was hit from behind by a 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, police said. The crash pushed the cruiser into the Corolla, injuring the trooper on his upper body, state police said.

He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where was treated and released early Thursday.

Police said the Corolla and the men inside smelled like alcohol. The driver, 18-year-old Abraham Estrada, of Lawrence, showed signs of impairment and was given several field sobriety tests, state police said.

Troopers searched the car and found a plastic bag with 126 Xanax pills and 12 additional pills shaped like mushrooms, four-leaf clovers and seashells, police said. The bag was sticking out of the pocket of a pair of jeans behind the passenger seat belonging to the passenger, 18-year-old Geraldo Costa Mariano Jr., of Framingham.

In a second plastic bag, troopers found about 3.5 grams of a substance believed to be marijuana.

State police said they also found a black backpack with a Kel-Tec Sub-2000 collapsible rifle, three large-capacity magazines, 33 9-mm rounds and 12 .40-caliber rounds. The serial number of the rifle had been scratched off, police said.

Neither Estrada nor Costa Mariano are old enough to be eligible for a license to carry in Massachusetts, police said.

Both men face the following charges:

• Illegal possession of a large capacity weapon
• Illegal possession of a large capacity feeding device (3 counts)
• Possession of a firearm without a Firearm Identification Card
• Possession of ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card
• Possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number

Estrada was also charged with operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Costa Mariano faces additional charges of possession of a Class E narcotic and possession of a Class D narcotic.

The driver who struck the cruiser, a 28-year-old Haverhill resident, was cited for a move over violation.