A Lowell man has been caught by a regional SWAT team after reportedly escaping custody at a state hospital and kidnapping a man at knifepoint.
Zachary Noonan, 27, was about to be transferred from the Tewksbury State Hospital to Lowell General Hospital for a mental health evaluation when he ran from an ambulance, according to a report from the Sentinel and Enterprise.
Noonan recently served a yearlong sentence for violating his probation. He pleaded guilty to stealing about $76,000 for charities supporting child cancer patients, injured veterans and firefighters that didn't exist.
Noonan wore a hospital gown as he was chased by hospital security and disappeared into the woods nearby, Capt. James Hodgdon told the Sentinel and Enterprise. Around 9:30 p.m., a woman called 911 to report that her husband had been kidnapped.
Noonan approached a man in his car and asked him to use his cell phone, according to the Sentinel and Enterprise report. He then reportedly pulled out a knife and told him to drive, allegedly forcing the man to drive him to several places in Lowell. While Noonan was distracted, the man was able to call his wife and quickly ask for help.
Noonan was arrested at a home on Forest Street in Lowell by a SWAT team from the Northeastern Law Enforcement Council.
Hodgdon told the Sentinel and Enterprise that police plan to charge Noonan with armed carjacking, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness.
