Dedham man faces assault charges in Walpole beating; caught in Dover

A 22-year-old Dedham man wanted on a warrant by Walpole Police was arrested last Thursday afternoon following a multi-town manhunt ending in Dover center.

Walpole Police said John Boyle, of Dedham, was part of a group of five or six young men that beat an East Street tenant and his friend in Walpole center on June 5 with a baseball bat during an attempted robbery.

Sgt. John Carmichael said the group jumped the two around 1:30 a.m. outside the East Street apartment when they were walking back from 7-Eleven. Police said the group then beat the men when they refused to hand over their keys.

A pair of Dedham teens – Kyle F. Carroll, 19, and Kieran Boyle, 18 – were identified almost a week after the beating and arrested by Dedham and Walpole police.

Walpole Police Chief Richard Stillman confirmed Kieran and John Boyle are brothers. They at one point lived in Walpole, according to court records.

Stillman said police identified John Boyle from witness statements, through detective work and a photo array shown to the victims. A warrant was issued for John Boyle’s arrest in June charging him with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, attempted murder, conspiracy and attempting to commit a crime.

 “It took awhile,” Stillman said.

Carmichael said police received numerous tips on John Boyle’s whereabouts throughout the summer, but he continued to evade apprehension.

 “We were looking for him pretty extensively,” Carmichael said.

The police search for John Boyle came to an end last Thursday when a Wellesley officer finally caught him on Rivard Road in Needham, police said.

The chase started in Needham, police said, when the car John Boyle was a passenger in was stopped around noon for a traffic violation on Great Plain Avenuem near Trout Pond Lane.

Needham police said, John Boyle hopped out of the car and ran off, but the woman driving the car identified her passenger as John Boyle.

The traffic stop prompted a massive search involving officers from several area towns, a state police helicopter, the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council and police dogs. Officers involved in the manhunt wore bulletproof vests and were seen carrying automatic rifles.

 “I picked up a dog and as I was driving on Walnut (Street), at the intersection of Marked Tree Road, there was an unmarked cruiser and a plain clothes officer with a rifle was waving for me to get out,” said Rob Nager, who operates Decadent Dog, a dog-walking service. “Police were rushing around, telling people to get out.”

A Dover resident spotted John Boyle trying to leave the area in another car and alerted authorities, police said. Officers said Boyle tried to run off again when officers approached but failed to escape the second time.

Counts of failure to stop for police and driving without a license are being tacked on to his warrant charges. Police say he was also wanted for a probation violation out of Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.

He’s slated for arraignment in Wrentham District Court on Sept. 21. John Boyle is being held in Norfolk County jail without bail.

Police said Boyle’s criminal record is extensive.

On Sept. 16, 2008, police said, John Boyle stole three rifles and a handgun from a Dedham house but a woman who sensed something was wrong spotted him standing outside the house.

Trying to make his escape in the 2008 incident, John Boyle later stopped his car on a Rte. 128 on-ramp and threw the guns into the bushes, but police retrieved the guns, and he was eventually arrested in Needham, police said.

Carmichael said he’s glad John Boyle is finally off the streets.

With three of the suspects involved in the June beating arrested, police said they are working to identify the others involved. Since the crime is under investigation, Carmichael said he couldn’t comment on how detectives planned to find the last two or three men.