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LEOMINSTER — On Sunday, Sept. 11, at 9:40 a.m., Officers Matthew Chagnon and Michael Salvorados were dispatched to the Motel 6 located at 48 Commercial Road following a report of a disturbance.
According to Officer Chagnon’s Narrative for the incident, when he arrived on scene, he observed two men walking away from the office area of the motel. The man in front, who was wearing a black tank top, was trying to get away from the man behind him who was screaming in his direction.
“They approached my vehicle, I exited my cruiser, and I stepped between the two parties who appeared to be having some type of verbal altercation to prevent it from escalating,” wrote Officer Chagnon in his Narrative.
Officer Salvorados spoke with the man in the tank top while Officer Chagnon addressed the man who was trailing him, later identified as Antonio Arias, a 30-year-old Fitchburg resident.
“Mr. Arias appeared to be very agitated. He was puffing his chest and staring past me like I wasn’t even there yelling at the other male party with Officer Salvorados,” wrote Officer Chagnon in his Narrative. “As he was yelling at the other party past me, he became louder and louder, when he spoke, spit was being discharged from his mouth in my direction, an odor of alcoholic beverage became present, and his eyes appeared to be bloodshot and glassy.”
From that observation, Officer Chagnon concluded that Arias was either intoxicated and/or on drugs.
According to Officer Chagnon, at that time, several managers and employees of the motel appeared in the parking lot to observe the commotion; at least two guests came out of their room to join in on the rubbernecking as well.
After Arias yelled, “What’s up, Joe? You stabbed me in the face and you said I would never forget you. What’s up now?” Officer Chagnon told him to calm down several times.
When he finally got ahold of himself, Officer Chagnon asked Arias what transpired. Arias told Officer Chagnon that the individual he was yelling at stabbed him in the face months ago and when the two bumped into each other at Denny’s, Arias approached the man (whose name is being withheld) to address him about the incident.
Arias said that the man ran away from him to the lobby of the Motel 6 adjacent to Denny’s. Arias caught up to him in the lobby and the two exited into the parking lot where police were waiting after a manager from the motel called police to report the altercation.
After Arias refused to provide his ID to Officer Chagnon, he was placed under arrest for Disorderly Conduct.
With Arias in the back of his cruiser, Officer Chagnon spoke with the other man who said that Arias was his cousin’s girlfriend’s son. He said he was walking by the Denny’s when Arias popped up from behind him and said “boo.”
“He then started to confront him regarding an incident that (the victim) said took place two years ago and that what he is alleging never happened in the first place,” wrote Officer Chagnon in his Narrative.
The manager of the Motel 6 then verbally trespassed both men indefinitely from the motel with Officer Chagnon.
According to Officer Chagnon’s Narrative, Arias had another Disorderly Conduct charged in Gardner, which was closed by the Gardner District Court on April 10, 2015 and amended with a civil disposition.
Arias was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Sept. 12. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 17 for a pretrial hearing.
