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WINCHENDON – On Thursday, April 6, at 11:39 p.m., Winchendon dispatch received a call from Jacob Mahan, who said he was following a vehicle driven by a man who pointed a gun at him at an intersection. Winchendon police officers Dylan Mei, James Wironen, and Sergeant Joseph Champney were dispatched to locate the vehicles.
According to Officer Mei’s Narrative for the incident, shortly after he was updated on the 911 call by dispatch, he observed a gray Honda Civic with New Hampshire plates heading southbound on Spring Street with a car flashing its high beams at it from behind. Officer Mei pulled both vehicles over on Gardner Road and the other responding officers arrived as well.
According to Officer Wironen’s Narrative for the incident, at the traffic stop, he spoke with Mahan who said that earlier that evening he pulled into the parking lot of the Cumberland Farms on Central Street, where he observed the male driver and female passenger “snort $hit” inside a vehicle.
Mahan went on to say that he happened to pull out of the parking lot right behind the vehicle where the suspected drug activity took place.
According to Officer Wironen’s Narrative, Mahan said that as they both took a right out of the parking lot, heading in the direction of the intersection, the female passenger turned around in her seat and gave him the finger.
Mahan said he then pulled up next to the vehicle and asked the couple if “there was a problem or something.”
The woman responded saying, “you better get the f$ck out of here right now,” while the driver of the vehicle allegedly pulled out a black handgun with a laser and trained the laser’s red point onto Mahan’s face.
Mahan told police that “for a second I thought I was about to get shot.”
The suspect then reportedly took the laser off Mahan and placed the gun in his lap before driving off. Mahan then followed the Honda while he called 911.
Officer Wiroren said he then told Sergeant Champney, who was at the suspects’ vehicle, that Mahan said the driver pointed a handgun at his face.
Sergeant Champney then told the woman – who did not comply immediately – to exit the vehicle so it could be inventoried.
“The female kept reaching around in the vehicle and I told her to stop reaching around and get out of the car,” explained Officer Wiroren in his Narrative. According to the Winchendon Police Department, the woman falsely identified herself as Alexandra Lightsinger, 28, of Franklin, New Hampshire, about four days following her arrest, she was correctly identified as Gabrielle Cola, born January 16, 1993.
According to Officer Mei’s Narrative, the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Jared Mcguier-Wiegard, got out of the vehicle, and yelled at Officer Wiroren while he was speaking with Cola. Mcguier-Wiegard was handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser as a result.
According to police, McGuire-Wiegand, 29, lives in an apartment on Main Street in Laconia, New Hampshire, and is a handyman by trade.
After Cola was handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser, the officers began inventorying the Honda.
In the pocket of the front door, police found two large stacks of money, each bundled together with a rubber band. Police later found that each stack contained 47 20-dollar bills, together totaling $1,880.
In the arm rest of the center console, was a Ruger pistol with a red laser dot sight on the front trigger guard.
In a watch box in a backpack in the back seat of the Honda, police found a baggie of fentanyl. Police also located a digital scale, multiple phones, drug paraphernalia (a container decorated with 100-dollar bills with white residue in it and a metal vial with tan residue in it), and half a pill of Xanax.
“Through my training and experience, I knew drug dealers often use multiple phones, have large sums of cash and or drugs, digital scale(s), and may carry a firearm,” reasoned Officer Mei in his Narrative. “The items seized were consistent with the distribution of narcotics. Jared later blurted out (spontaneous utterance) everything in the car was his and mentioned he would have helped us locate the drugs.”
Officer Mei then had dispatch run Mcguier-Wiegard’s biographical information to see if he as a License to Carry (LTC) in Massachusetts, he did not.
Mcguier-Wiegard and Cola were then transported to the Winchendon police station for booking.
Back at the station, Detective Caleb Similia spoke with Mcguier-Wiegard in the Sally Port while Cola was being booked by Officer Mei and Sgt. Champney.
According to Det. Similia’s Narrarive, he turned on his body camera, and confirmed with Mcguier-Wiegard that he was read his Miranda Warnings and is now being recorded.
“I asked Jared how much money he had and he stated approximately $2,800,” Det. Similia said in his Narrative, adding that another stack of money in various denomination, worth $1,001, was found in Mcguier-Wiegard’s wallet. “I told Jared the money was indicative of drug distribution while advising him of the other evidence as well (scale, drugs, and firearm). Jared stated the money was his tax returns and later stated it was for rent. I told him it was going to be seized.”
While Mcguier-Wiegard was being booked, officers found a baggie with crack cocaine on his person. Inside the bag of fentanyl seized from the vehicle, Det. Similia found a smaller baggie containing more crack.
Mcguier-Wiegard was charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, Possession with the Intent to Distribute Class A (fentanyl) and Possession with Intent to Distribute Class B (cocaine).
Cola was also arrested and charged with Possession of a Class A Drug, Possession of a Class B Drug, Possession of a Class E drug.
Mcguier-Wiegard’s bail was set at $5,000 cash. Cola’s bail was not included in the Freedom of Information Request obtained by News Link Live.
Both individuals were held overnight and arraigned on April 7 in Winchendon District Court. During the arraignment, the judge approved a motion from the Commonwealth to place Mcguier-Wiegard into pretrial detention for dangerousness.
Mcguier-Wiegard is scheduled to appear in court again on May 5 for a pretrial hearing.
On April 10, the Winchendon Police Department announced that a warrant had been issued for Cola on an additional charge of giving a false name/identifying information following an arrest.
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Disclaimer 2: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from last month (you’re an a$$hole that doesn’t understand my business model, just kidding🃏), 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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