GARDNER — On Saturday, June 29, 2024, Officer Scott Marigliano of the Gardner Police Department was dispatched to the SOHO (South Gardner Hotel), located at 8 East Broadway following a report of a disturbance involving a firearm.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Marigliano and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“When I arrived, several people, including a male party, later identified as, Jason Meuse, were running around in the street in front of SOHO,” Officer Marigliano said. “Jason pointed at the rear parking lot and said he went behind the building on a moped. I asked him, ‘was it the guy with the gun?’ to which he replied, ‘yes.’”
Officer Marigliano drove to the rear parking lot, where he saw a man on a moped attempting to leave the parking lot. He blocked the moped’s path with his cruiser and ordered the operator, later identified as Travis Miller, to dismount and keep his hands visible.
According to police, Travis Daniel Miller, 36, is a resident of 4 Cypress Street in Gardner.
“Once off the bike, I ordered Travis to place his hands on my cruiser and I searched him,” Officer Marigliano said. “On Travis, I located a BB gun which I seized. I handcuffed Travis behind his back and put him in the rear of my cruiser. I told Travis that he was being detained but was not under arrest.”
Officer Marigliano then spoke with Meuse.
“Jason told me that he had asked Travis to leave earlier in the night and Travis cooperated and left,” Officer Marigliano said. “Jason said that Travis came back demanding to see Dylan about some money.
Dylan Clark-Johnson is the bar owner’s son and was present at the time. Jason told me that Travis began grabbing at a gun on his waistband. I asked Jason how he knew it was a gun. Jason said that he is in the military and was familiar with weapons and noticed Travis kept checking his waistline and said he saw Travis place his hand on what looked to him to be the handgrip of a firearm through his clothing.”
According to Meuse, Miller was then chased out of the bar by a few people and Officer Marigliano showed up in the rear parking lot as Miller was attempting to flee.
“Travis’ actions caused an unnecessary scene and placed people in the bar in fear causing them to leave the building for their safety,” Officer Marigliano said. “Travis was also attempting to flee the parking lot on an unregistered moped while intoxicated. I asked Dylan if his dad would want the moped on his property and he said no. I requested a duty hook to the scene. Officer [Bryant] Powlowski waited for the tow truck.”
Officer Marigliano then returned to his cruiser and told Miller that he was under arrest for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Officer Marigliano seized Miller’s BB gun.
Miller’s bail was set at $200.
Miller was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Monday, July 1, 2024.
During his arraignment, Judge James Haddad ordered that the charge of disorderly conduct be decriminalized under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 277 Section 70C, which states that the court may treat a violation of a municipal ordinance, by-law, and/or a misdemeanor offense as a civil infraction. Judge Haddad dismissed the second charge of disturbing the peace.
Judge Haddad determined that Miller was “responsible” for the decriminalized charge of disorderly conduct and imposed a $50 fine. The court stipulated that the disorderly conduct charge would be dismissed upon payment of the fine. Miller paid the $50 fine on the day of his arraignment. Afterward, he was released with all charges dismissed and no further court appearances required.
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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