Armed Suspect Was Captured by Former Pop Warner Football Coach, Says Report

The police officer who captured an armed 19-year-old home invasion suspect Monday had previously coached the young man in Pop Warner Football, according to details in a police report.

The report says the young man was found hiding in an apartment with a handgun and $2,584 in cash. He was previously arrested, in September of 2012, on firearms charges after a traffic stop on Medford Street.

Police arrested Edward Anthony Paulino after he led officers on a foot chase through Winter Hill and into a housing complex on Memorial Road, the report says. .

Officer Fernando Cicerone, one of the first to respond to the alleged home invasion, ultimately found Paulino hiding under two mattresses in the bedroom of a Mystic River Housing Development apartment, the report says.

In his report, Cicerone wrote, "I recognized this suspect from a previous arrest and from Pop Warner Football as a player I had coached and known as 'Tony.'"

The police report says officers responded to 60 Derby St. at about 10:37 a.m. for a report that two men armed with guns had kicked in the door.

When officers arrived at the scene, they saw the two suspects run out of the residence and flee into the backyard, the report says.

As one officer pursued a suspect on foot, Cicerone drove his cruiser onto Sydney Street, where he spotted the second suspect, Paulino, and it was at that point the officer recognized the young man, the report says.

Officers quickly arrested the first suspect, Derrick Steven Paul, 22, with no known address, after a brief struggle, the report says.

It says officers then chased Paulino into 15C Memorial Rd. and then set up a perimeter around the building, guarding all exits.

Officers began searching apartments one by one, the report says, evacuating each one while they searched.

When they got to the fourth apartment, a male answered the door and said the apartment belonged to a friend of his. He said his friend was inside with her 4-year-old son and that she was too sick to evacuate the apartment, according to the report.

"Due to [the] tenant's alleged illness, a search of the apartment was executed with all parties still inside," the report says. It adds the male and female in the apartment both said no one else was in there.

As Cicerone worked to clear one of the bedrooms, he saw two mattresses, and he ultimately found Paulino hiding under them, with a firearm nearby, according to the report, which adds the suspect had $2,548 in cash in his pocket. The report says the firearm was a .45 caliber handgun.

After handcuffing the young man, the officer and coach asked Paulino why he ran away, and the suspect allegedly said, "I'm sorry, I was scared."

Paulino was charged with armed home invasion, armed robbery, two counts of receiving stolen property (money and a firearm), carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license, and resisting arrest. He was .

Paul was charged with armed home invasion and resisting arrest.

The report says police plan to file charges against the tenant of the apartment for harboring a fugitive.

Please remember that allegations contained in police reports do not indicate a conviction.