
WINCHENDON —On Thursday, June 9 at 10:28 p.m., Officers James Maynard and Justin Smith of the Winchendon Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call from a woman on Jameson Way who said her mother and boyfriend were fighting.
According to Officer Maynard’s Narrative for the incident, while on the phone, the dispatcher could hear the caller “yell something to the effect of ‘you hit him and he’s bleeding!!’”
Officer Maynard said that when he arrived on scene, he saw an older female yelling in the driveway. The woman was later identified as Jennifer Laverdure, the 9-1-1- caller’s mother. According to the Winchendon Police Department’s Arrest Report for the incident, Laverdure is a 50-year-old Winchendon resident who works in endocrinologist at Heywood Hospital in Gardner.
Officer Smith stayed with Laverdure while Officer Maynard approached the residence, where he could see Laverdure’s daughter and her bleeding, 35-year-old boyfriend in the light of the front porch.
“His face and chest were covered in blood to such an extent I couldn’t tell where the bleeding was coming from,” wrote Officer Maynard in his Narrative. “I asked him if he wanted an ambulance, he said no.”
Officer Maynard said that as the man began to clean himself up, he observed a ½ to ¼ inch cut above his right eyebrow. Officer Maynard advised the man again that he should go to the hospital for stitches, adding that he should apply pressure to the wound to “staunch” the bleeding in the interim.
Afterwards, the man told Officer Maynard that he had been arguing about “relationship issues” with his girlfriend (the 9-1-1- caller) all day. When the argument concluded with the man telling Laverdure’s daughter that he “wanted some space,” she agreed and called her mother to come pick her up.
The man said that when Laverdure arrived to pick up her daughter, she was “yelling and arguing with him in the doorway.”
“They continued to yell as they walked towards Jennifer’s car, Jennifer got into the driver’s seat. [The man] said he got into the passenger seat with her and Jennifer struck him in the face with a porcelain coffee mug,” wrote Officer Maynard in his Narrative.
After hearing this, Officer Maynard told the couple to stay inside while he went outside to handcuff Laverdure. Officer Maynard also notified and dispatched EMS (Emergency Medical Services). It was around this time that Sergeant Raymond Anair arrived on scene to assist as well.
“I told Jennifer to turn around and put her hands behind her back, she did so,” wrote Officer Maynard in his Narrative. “She yelled, ‘he’s been abusing my daughter all day and I’m the one who gets arrested??’”
After Laverdure was placed in Sgt. Anair’s cruiser, Officer Smith told Officer Maynard that her face, hands and chest were drenched in blood. Officer Smith then told Officer Maynard Laverdure’s side of the story.
“Officer Smith said Jennifer drove to [the man’s] house to pick [her daughter] up and when she went to the door, [the man] answered, she described his behaviors as threatening to her,” wrote Officer Maynard in his Narrative. “She said he was in her face screaming and yelling, which scared her, she said she then punched him in the face. The two then continued to argue down the driveway and Jennifer got into her car, [the man] hopped into the passenger seat and she admitted to hitting him in the face with a coffee mug.”
Officer Maynard said he then spoke with Laverdure’s daughter about the abuse her mother alleged.
“[Laverdure’s daughter] said [her boyfriend] had never laid a hand on her, they were just arguing all day about their relationship. She then said Jennifer and [her boyfriend] were yelling at each other at the front door and in the driveway,” wrote Officer Maynard in his Narrative. “[Laverdure’s daughter] then tried to separated the two of them but she was unsuccessful. She did not see Jennifer hit [her boyfriend] with the coffee mug, but she said she saw them in the car together.”
Officer Maynard then explained: “For hitting the man in the face with a coffee mug (dangerous weapon) causing a serious laceration about his right eye without any right or excuse to do so, I am requesting the following charge against Jennifer, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.”
The man was transported to Heywood Hospital in Gardner via Winchendon EMS.
Laverdure was taken to the Winchendon Police Department where she was booked and formally charged with Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon. Her bail was set at $340.
Laverdure was arraigned in Winchendon District Court on June 10. She is scheduled to appear in court again on August 24 for a pretrial hearing.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from early June, that’s because I had to file a FOIA request to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.