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WINCHENDON – On Monday, April 10, 2023, at about 5:06 p.m., Sergeant Raymond Anair of the Winchendon Police Department was dispatched to the Community Resources for Justice group home on Alger Street following a report that a resident, Donna Provost, attacked another resident who was bleeding from the face after the altercation.
Community Resources for Justice’s group homes are residential re-entry programs designed to provide structure and support to those transitioning from prison back into their communities.
“Upon arrival, I left my cruiser by the road so that responding EMS would know where to respond,” wrote Sergeant Raymond Anair in his Narrative for the incident. “I walked down the driveway to the house and saw client Donna Provost outside, she appeared to be agitated, banging a plastic cup. As I went in, Donna went in, and threw the cup at the client that she had assaulted [name redacted]. Donna then took off running. Knowing Donna from previous calls at the residence, I knew it would be better to catch up to her sooner rather than later, so I ran after her.”
According to Sgt. Anair, when he began following Provost, she picked up a small stick in the driveway and threw it at him.
“In dealing with Donna in the past, I also know that she likes to throw small sticks and rocks. I continued following her,” Sgt. Anair explained.
Court documents indicate that Provost, 33, uses 680 Alger Street in Winchendon, the address of the Community Resources for Justice group home, as her permanent address. The documents do not specify if she has any known disabilities or why she was incarcerated, but she is single.
“As I got out to the road, I saw that Donna had a dead pine branch in her hands. It was about the size of a baseball bat,” wrote Sgt. Anair in his Narrative. “I told her to drop the stick and closed the distance between us. As I did, she swung the stick downward at me. I blocked it with my left hand, and it struck me between my thumb and index finger. I then immediately placed Donna in handcuffs and told her that she was under arrest for assaulting me with a stick.”
Provost was transported to the Winchendon Police Department for booking. After she was booked, Provost called her guardian.
“She called her guardian, and after she spoke to him, I spoke to him as well,” wrote Officer Anair in his Narrative. “I told him that she was under arrest for hitting me with a stick. He referred me to the group home for bail purposes.”
Provost’s bail was set at $500.
“Donna was made aware of the bail,” wrote Officer Anair in his Narrative. “I later spoke with Denise Jalbert, the program manager of the house. Denise said that they would not be able to come up with the bail money for Donna. Donna was then held for court the following morning.”
Provost was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.
Provost was arraigned in Winchendon District Court on April 11. Judge Mark Goldstein released her on her own personal recognizance, with the requirement that she have a 15a mental health evaluation for competency and criminal responsibility.
Provost’s next court date is June 13, when she is scheduled to have a pretrial hearing.
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Disclaimer 2: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from April (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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