A 25-year-old man was arrested twice during a roughly six-hour period during which police say he spit in the face of an officer and later threatened to shoot several others.
Azonti Sanders was arrested around 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday on Page Boulevard in Springfield after police say he was drinking in public and causing a disturbance. As Sanders was being detained, he turned around and hit an officer’s hand and continued to cause a disturbance, prompting his arrest, Springfield Police said in a statement.
Around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, a clerk in Springfield District Court released Sanders on his own recognizance.
Roughly two hours later, at 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, police went to Waltham Street for a gun call. There, officers found Sanders, who began threatening them, according to the statement.
Police say Sanders pulled a gun out of his pocket and threatened to shoot officers before fleeing into a building. A short time later, officers found Sanders in front of an apartment and arrested him again.
During a search of Sanders’ apartment, police found a black BB gun, according to the statement.
Sanders is charged with two counts each of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer. He is also charged with single counts of threat to commit a crime, disorderly conduct and an open container ordinance violation, police said.
