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ATHOL – On Sunday, Nov. 20, at 1:11 p.m., Officer Erick Fredette of the Athol Police Department spoke with Marcus Cyganiewicz, who claimed that his gun was stolen from the locked glove box of his vehicle the night before.
According to Officer Fredette’s Narrative for the incident, Cyganiewicz, 33, of Gardner, said his car was parked outside of 37 Pine Street.
“Mr. Cyganiewicz stated he was with Ms. Lauren Dube who is staying at 37 Pine Street (it should be noted that 37 Pine St. is a highly trafficked house for 94C [drug] activity). Ofc. Fredette is familiar with Ms. Dube from previous law enforcement interactions,” wrote Officer Fredette in his Narrative for the incident. According to police, Dube was Cyganiewicz’s girlfriend at the time.
Cyganiewicz told Officer Fredette that he let Dube, 33, borrow his car the day before. Cyganiewicz said that when he got home, he noticed that his gun (a Glock G43x, 9mm) was no longer in his glove compartment, which he said he left locked.
Officer Fredette told Cyganiewicz that even if the glove compartment was locked, it’s still not a secure location for a firearm. The officer then asked if Cyganiewicz knew if anyone other than Dube had been in the vehicle recently, Cyganiewicz replied “no.”
Officer Fredette and Cyganiewicz then went to the station where – using Cyganiewicz’s paperwork – Sergeant Randal Stange entered Cyganiewicz’s firearm into the National Crime Information Center’s database as stolen.
The following day, on Monday, Nov. 21, Officer Fredette, Sgt. Jarret Mousseau, and Officer Craig Deveneau were all dispatched to the second floor apartment of 37 Pine Street for a report of a domestic disturbance involving Cyganiewicz and Dube. A neighbor who lived in the downstairs apartment was on scene as well.
According to Officer Fredette’s Narrative, police determined that Cyganiewicz and Dube were having a “verbal argument about the firearm.”
“Ofc. Fredette advised Ms. Dube she was a suspect in the case and advised her of her Miranda Warnings,” wrote Officer Fredette in his Narrative. “Ofc. Fredette asked if she knew where the firearm was. She stated ‘no’ that she last knew it was in his vehicle in a green satchel. Ofc. Fredette asked her if she took it and she stated ‘no.’”
Officer Deveneau then advised Officer Fredette that the downstairs neighbor told him that Dube did, in fact, have a firearm at one point. The neighbor also gave police permission to search her apartment because she “didn’t want a gun in the house,” according to Officer Fredette.
Officers didn’t locate a firearm during their search of the first-floor apartment.
Officer Fredette ended his work that day by leaving the investigation open and sending information about the case to the Detective Bureau for further investigation.
According to Officer Fredette, while he did believe that some charges would remain pending until the investigation was completed, he felt that at that time he had probable cause to charge Cyganiewicz with having an unsecured firearm (which he did).
The following day, Officer Fredette, Officer Forand and Det. Chauvette continued their investigation by locating Dube at her second-floor apartment on Pine Street.
“I advised Dube that I was looking to speak with her in reference to a stolen firearm that Officer Fredette had previously spoken to her about. Dube opened the door leading to the upstairs and invited both Officer Forand and I into the residence. Without being questioned, Dube stated, ‘I took the gun out of the glove box and put it in the green satchel thing and brought it back here [to 37 Pine Street, Athol MA] to Marcus,’” wrote Det. Chauvette in his Narrative. “[Dube continued saying] ‘I was being a good friend and as far as I know Marcus has the gun and he’s just blaming me because we got in an argument because I won’t be his girlfriend.’”
Det. Chauvette advised Dube that there was a gold watch and Apple iPhone7 stolen from the vehicle as well. Dube told police that the watch was in her bedroom.
“I advised Dube that the firearm is now missing and she stated against her own interest that she did, in fact, remove the firearm, gold watch and Apple iPhone7 from the vehicle without permission. I advised Dube that I would like to conduct a recorded interview at the Athol Police Station and offered Dube a ride to the station due to her not having a license or vehicle,” wrote Det. Chauvette in his Narrative. He later added that Dube agreed to the voluntary transport.
“While retrieving her shoes, Dube held up the gold watch, showing the item to Officer Forand stating, ‘this is the watch.’ It should also be noted that I checked the records system and Dube does not have an active LTC (License to Carry) or FID in Massachusetts,’” wrote Det. Chauvette in his Narrative. Later adding, “Prior to leaving the residence, Dube locked the door at the top of the stairs which leads to Apartment 2 utilizing a key and exited through the first floor apartment. While exiting the residence, Dube stated she placed the firearm and green satchel in the TV stand on the first floor. Dube walked over and opened the stand and said, ‘It was right there when I last saw it.’ Dube was provided a courtesy transport to the Athol Police Station.”
When they arrived at the station, Det. Chauvette escorted Dube into the interview room. He then advised her that the interview was voluntary and that she was free to end it at any time. Det. Chauvette said he then informed Dube that the interview was being audio recorded and advised her of her Miranda Warnings.
“Dube stated that she did not wish to answer any questions at this time,” wrote Det. Chauvette in his Narrative. “I ended the audio interview and advised Dube that I would be applying for a search warrant for her residence due to the fact that she voluntarily admitted to taking the firearm and bringing the firearm into her apartment, and the fact that the stolen watch is currently believed to be located in her bedroom.”
That evening at approximately 10 p.m., police executed a search warrant of Dube’s Pine Street apartment. During the search of the apartment, officers located the gold watch and Apple iPhone7 in Dube’s bedroom.
Dube was consequently charged with the following offenses: larceny of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, and larceny over $1,200 by single scheme.
Her bail was set at $250.
Dube was arraigned in Orange District Court on Nov. 28, 2022.
She had a pretrial hearing on Jan. 17, which was continued to March 3.
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Disclaimer 2: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from late November, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
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