LUDLOW, Mass. (WWLP) - A Springfield man faces numerous drug and firearms charges following his arrest in Ludlow last Friday.

The Ludlow Police Department stated that on October 24, an officer was patrolling the area of East Street when he located a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver and passenger began to escape on foot.

The officer pursued the suspects with the assistance of an off-duty Hampden County Sheriff's Officer and detained the driver, identified as 37-year-old Rafael Rivera-Vazquez of Springfield. Police searched Rivera-Vazquez and found a loaded firearm in his waistband, along with heroin and crack cocaine.

Police then searched the vehicle and reportedly located a crack pipe, three rounds of ammunition, and a machete

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