LEOMINSTER — On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Officers Tiffany Craven and Marjus Zylyftari of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to 35 Hill Street following a report of a domestic violence incident.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officers Craven, Zylyftari, and Sgt. Fallon, and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Upon arrival, Officer Zylyftari and I activated our body worn cameras and went around the side of the home where Officer [Mackenson] Adescar and Sergeant [Richard] Woodward were speaking with the reporting party, identified as Laurieann [last name redacted],” Officer Craven said. “Laurieann stated that she has been living at 35 Hill Street for some time and her roommate, John Geissler, had thrown away all of her personal belongings.”
According to police, John E. Geissler, 46, is a resident of 35 Hill Street in Leominster.
Laurieann reported that when she entered the home that day, she discovered her personal items broken on the floor and noticed that all of her clothes stored in bins were missing. She said that Geissler told her, “the [n-word plural] came and took her clothing.”
Laurieann added that on that day, Geissler’s mother, whom Officer Craven described as having “mental health issues,” was “poking and pushing her in the chest” and insisting that she was her son. Laurieann, who was upset by this, was in the process of gathering the remainder of her belongings, when Geissler threatened to “cut her throat with a machete.” He then pushed her out of the front door of the residence and locked her outside.
“Laurieann stated that she did not want to be touched by John or [his mother],” Officer Craven said.
When police asked Laurieann if she was in a dating relationship with Geissler, she said “they were not and never have been, they were strictly roommates.”
“We advised Laurieann to not go back into the home and if she wanted to collect the rest of her belongings, that she would need police to be present,” Officer Craven said.
The officers then spoke with Geissler who said that “none of this occurred.”
“John states that he never had a machete and he had never threatened Laurieann,” Officer Craven said. “John said that this is his mother’s house and he and his mother do not want Laurieann living there. When asked if they were in a dating relationship, he stated that they were not, and they never have been, they were strictly roommates. Officer Zylyftari told John that he and his mother need to notify the court of this issue and get an eviction order against Laurieann.”
Officer Craven then arrested Geissler and charged him with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.
“John intentionally and forcefully pushed Laurieann with his hands out of the front door of the home,” Officer Craven explained. “John committed an assault by threatening to harm Laurieann with a machete. Laurieann stated that she was in fear of her life due to John yelling that he was going to ‘cut her throat’ with the machete. Note that there was no machete found at this time.”
Police added that Laurieann had no visible marks or bruises on her when they responded to the scene.
The following day, June 12, 2024, Sergeant Matthew Fallon called Laurieann and asked her if Geissler was holding a machete when he threatened her.
“Laurieann said John was not holding a machete when he threatened her,” Sgt. Fallon said. “Laurieann did not know if John owns a machete or if there is even one in the residence. Laurieann told me, ‘He makes things up.’ For that reason, I am removing the Assault with a Dangerous Weapon charge from this complaint application.”
Geissler’s charge was subsequently dropped from Assault with a Dangerous Weapon to Assault and Battery.
Geissler will be arraigned in Leominster District Court on Aug. 12, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from June, 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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