WINCHENDON — On Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, at approximately 12:36 a.m., Sergeant Joseph Champney, Officer Justin Smith, and Sergeant Gerald Gagne of the Winchendon Police Department were dispatched to Doyle Avenue following a report of a man passed out behind the wheel of his truck.
(The account and quotations in this article were taken from the printed Personnel Narrative of Sgt. Gagne.)
Sgt. Gagne, who was the first to arrive on scene, located a grey Ford F250 with Virginia plates parked in the middle of the roadway near where Doyle Avenue intersects with Hale Street.
Sgt. Gagne approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and shined his flashlight into the driver’s window.
“I observed the male operator known to me as Craig Evans passed out in the driver’s seat,” said Sgt. Gagne. “Knocking on the driver’s window and receiving no response from Craig, I opened the door, reached across him, turned the vehicle off and removed the keys from the ignition. Still unconscious, I grabbed the sleeve of Craig’s jacket and shook him several times while loudly calling his name before he awoke.”
According to police, Craig C. Evans, 41, is a resident of 66 Benjamin Street in Winchendon. He’s unmarried and he works in construction.
“On the passenger seat of Craig’s vehicle in plain view, I observed a partial six pack containing three full bottles of Corona brand beer,” Sgt. Gagne said. “Also, in plain view on the driver’s floor of the vehicle at Craig’s feet, I observed a pack of Marlboro Light cigarettes with extra packaging in the form of folded newspaper tucked inside the clear plastic outer film casing. Sticking out from under the edge of the driver’s floor mat I also observed an orange syringe cap. Based on my training and experience I know that illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and even prescription narcotics are commonly kept in such folded paper packaging tucked inside either the outer film or within the cigarette packs of users and the presence of a syringe cap on the driver’s floor is commonly found among intravenous drug users.”
Since he suspected that Evans may be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, Sgt. Gagne said that he grabbed the cigarette pack from the floor of the vehicle and handed it to Sgt. Champney while he asked Evans to get out of the vehicle.
“As I grabbed the cigarette pack from the floor at Craig’s feet and handed it to Sgt. Champney, Craig (trying to separate himself from the pack of cigarettes) exclaimed ‘I don’t know what that is!’” Sgt. Gagne said.
Evans stepped out of the vehicle at the officer’s request. A metal spoon fell from his lap onto the pavement along with a black sock – which police later learned contained a capped syringe – followed by a couple partially burnt cigarettes and a small pile of ashes.
Sgt. Gagne said Evans “immediately” picked up the spoon and threw it back into his truck.
“Based on my training and experience I am aware that intravenous drug users often heat spoons to dissolve illicit substances such as cocaine or heroin into a liquid before drawing the substance into a syringe to be self-administered intravenously,” Sgt. Gagne explained.
Sgt. Gagne took the cigarette pack from Officer Champney and brought it over to the hood of his cruiser to examine its contents.
“Upon removing the folded/crumpled newspaper from the cigarette pack, a fine beige powder which according to my training and experience is consistent with heroin began falling out from the folds of the newspaper onto the hood of my cruiser,” Sgt. Gagne said.
After this, Sgt. Gagne said “He’s going!” and Sgt. Champney and Officer Smith placed Evans under arrest and put him in the backseat of a cruiser.
“Using snow from the side of the roadway, I wiped the small amount of spilled powdery substance (suspected heroin) from the hood of my cruiser to prevent either direct or indirect exposure from it being sucked up into the vents as I drove away,” Sgt. Gagne said.
While on scene, a resident of the street approached Sgt. Gagne to inform him that Evans had been passed out in his truck since 11:50 p.m. and he walked past him, but since he was alone, he didn’t want to wake him up. Sgt. Gagne asked the man if he was the one who reported Evans to police, he said he wasn’t.
Brooks Auto Service was requested to tow Evans’ truck. Officer Smith remained on scene until the truck was towed while Sgt. Gagne and Champney transported Evans to the Winchendon Police Department for booking.
Evans declined a phone call and was placed into cell #3 to await release, Sgt. Gagne said.
Evans was charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle After Suspension/Revocation because – according to Sgt. Gagne – a check through the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database indicated that Evans’ Massachusetts driver’s license was revoked at the time of his arrest. In addition, a check of his Board of Probation record showed “numerous convictions for Operating After Suspension/Revocation.”
He was also charged with Possession of Heroin, for the 2.21 grams (valued at $200) of suspected heroin police found in a cigarette pack located at Evans’ feet on the floor of his vehicle.
Evans’ bail was set at $250 cash and he was arraigned in Winchendon District Court on Feb. 14, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from February, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
