Mental health patient escapes handlers
Boston police have launched a search for a man in the care of the state Department of Mental Health who allegedly tried to rob a woman after escaping from his handlers.
Police say Michael Castellucci was being taken from Taunton State Hospital to Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston for surgery on his arm Wednesday morning when he ran from two state employees transporting him.
Police say minutes later a man matching the 26-year-old Castellucci's description put a woman getting out of her car outside the West Roxbury courthouse in a bear hug and demanded her purse. She screamed and he ran away.
A Department of Mental Health spokeswoman says the escaped patient was sent to Taunton on June 29 for an evaluation after an appearance in Roxbury Municipal Court.
