A man under investigation for a recent crime in the Boston area — and who was on parole after being previously convicted of murder — was arrested by Wareham police after hiding in an attic and attempting to escape through a vent.

At about 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 22, police officers learned the man, Gino Gaillardetz, 56, of Chelsea, was staying at a house on Mason Street Ext.

He had allegedly commented that he was “not going back to jail.”

Gaillardetz was on parole for a murder he was convicted of committing in 1986. According to publicly available parole board records, Gaillardetz was drinking and doing cocaine in Hyannis when he planned to rob Francis Gray at knifepoint. Gray grabbed at him and Gaillardetz stabbed him in the chest three times. 

Gaillardetz has also been convicted for receiving stolen property, breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle, and larceny.

According to police:

Wareham Police accompanied parole officers to the house, where they learned that Gaillardetz had hidden himself in the attic in a location officers would not safely be able to access.

Police surrounded the home, and a number of additional Wareham police responded along with the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, Massachusetts State Police, and a command unit from the Metropolitan Law Enforcement council.

Police secured the area and evacuated neighboring houses. 

Just before 10 p.m., police spotted Gaillardetz trying to break out through the attic’s exhaust fan.

Chief John Walcek used a cruiser loudspeaker to tell him to surrender and come out of the house.

Within a few minutes, Gaillardetz came down to the kitchen and was safely taken into custody.

The SWAT team performed a sweep of the house to make sure no other suspects or weapons were present.

While this incident was taking place, a neighbor refused to evacuate and came outside his house holding a pistol. Police told him to go back inside, but he was later spotted again in his doorway, pistol in hand. 

The man had a lawful firearms permit, but police seized his permit and weapon, pending further investigation.