Southbridge Residents Relieved After Gregory Lewis' Capture

BOSTON (CBS) – Kids were allowed onto the school playground in Southbridge on Wednesday morning for the first time in weeks thanks to the capture of now infamous resident Gregory Lewis.

"One more predator off the street is amazing. It's awesome. They did their job," said Pebbles LaChance, a Southbridge mother.

As LaChance watched her two young sons playing in the driveway, she said she was glad an older daughter won't have to be driven to school each morning anymore.

"With her walking to and from school that's scary just knowing somebody's out there that is that dangerous," said LaChance.

Lewis had been on the lam from Southbridge since mid-September. That's when police say he cut off the electronic monitoring device he'd been ordered to wear and left it in the front yard of a 13-year-old child he'd been accused of raping.

Police say Lewis then embarked on a six-week, cross country binge of kidnappings and sexual assaults ending when he dunked his Jeep Grand Cherokee into the Hudson River in upstate New York last night.

On Wednesday at the Southbridge house where he allegedly terrorized his own mother and step-father, the strain was evident as a sign out front reads "No interviews, please leave."

"I explained to them that he had been apprehended and, needless to say, I think it's pretty obvious they were extremely relieved. It's been a long road for them from September 15 to today," said Massachusetts State Police Deputy Chief Shane Woodson.

While on the run, Lewis had indicated that he was bent on returning to Southbridge to kill his original teen accuser.

She was under 24-7 guard, as were Lewis' parents, but the town curtailed some outdoor events amid beefed-up police patrols and plenty of resident worry.

"Nobody knew where he was. He was popping up everywhere," said Southbridge resident Mark O'Coin.

"Well I'm thinking to myself that I don't have to look over my shoulder quite so much."

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON