LEOMINSTER — On Friday, March 22, 2024, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Officers Kyle Klimowicz and Joseph Rydzefski of the Leominster Police Department were at 27 Lourdes Drive with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to assist with a well-being check and potential removal of a child from the residence.
According to Officer Klimowicz, he met with DCF in the lobby of the Leominster Police Department a few minutes before their arrival at the Lourdes Drive residence.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Klimowicz and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“They were requesting units to go up to Brittany’s address at 27 Loudes Drive alongside them while they put a child safety plan in place, or removed the daughter from the home,” Officer Klimowicz said.
While in the lobby, DCF employees told the officer that at around 8:30 p.m. that evening they received a report that Brittaney Szkaradek had gone to Urgent Care with her seven-year-old daughter and appeared to be under the influence.
According to court documents, Brittaney R. Szkaradek, 34, of Lourdes Drive, Leominster, works in Somerville for Mass Health as a personal care attendant.
When Officer Klimowicz arrived on scene, he was met with Brittaney’s father, who at the door of the residence, said that she was home since her car was in the driveway. He then closed the door and returned about a minute later to tell Officer Klimowicz that she may be inside her vehicle.
“It should be noted that it was snowing outside, and all the windows of the car had been layered in snow,” Officer Klimowicz said. “A DCF employee went inside to speak with [Brittany’s father] while Officer Rydzefski and I approached the vehicle. It should be noted that the vehicle was off and the keys, not in the ignition. I opened the passenger door to find Brittany hunched over at the steering wheel with her purse and miscellaneous belongings scattered on her lap. I also noted a dime sized corned of a Ziplock bag with white powder in it, in her open purse. At this point, based on my training and experience, I had reasonable suspicion to believe Brittany was illegally in possession of controlled substances.”
Officer Klimowicz said that Szkaradek appeared to be dissociated, and he had to tell her multiple times to take the items off her lap and place them into the center console and seat beside her.
“She remained hunched over while we spoke with her, and could not state where she was coming from since having gone to Urgent Care earlier in the night,” Officer Klimowicz said. “I asked Brittany if she wanted medical attention, to which she replied that she did not, and that she wanted to go inside with her father and daughter.”
According to Officer Klimowicz, Szkaradek was responsive, breathing, and did not appear to need immediate medical attention.
“I asked Brittany what she had taken tonight, to which she replied she hadn’t taken anything,” Officer Klimowicz said. “I then informed her of what I had noticed (the lighter, tinfoil, and baggie containing what I believed to be a controlled substance), and asked her to step out of the vehicle. I asked Brittany what the substance was, stating it was for our safety to know, to which she replied ‘Fentanyl.’ I asked Brittany if she had any paraphernalia in the vehicle or any more substances, and that we would be searching the car either way, to which she said there was nothing else.”
Officer Klimowicz then placed Szkaradek under arrest for possession of a controlled substance, searched her, and then Officer Rydzefski transported her to the Leominster Police Station for booking.
DCF, which remained on scene during the arrest and search of the vehicle, told police that they would likely be placing Szkaradek’s daughter under the care of her grandfather.
During the search of Szkaradek’s vehicle, police located the following:
- Three nickel-sized bags of Fentanyl
- Three Alprazolam (Xanax) pills
- 12 peach, ovular Adderall pills
- ½ of a Gabapentin pill
Paraphernalia located in the car included: burnt pieces of tinfoil, a blue straw/tube with white residue on it, and a set of tweezers.
Szkaradek was formally charged with Possession of Class A Substabce (one count) and Possession of Class E Substance (three counts).
Szkaradek’s bail was set at $40.
She was arraigned in Leominster District Court on March 25, after which she was released on her own personal recognizance under the condition that she remain drug free and undergo drug testing. She had a pretrial hearing on April 10. Her next court date is scheduled for June 12, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from March, 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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