LEOMINSTER — On Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at approximately 7:05 p.m., Officer Brandon Carlson of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to the Market Basket located at 71 Sack Boulevard following a report that a man was throwing items and fighting with people in the supermarket.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Carlson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
When Officer Carlson entered the grocery store, he observed several Market Basket employees restraining a man.
“The male party was thrashing around and trying to get away from the employees,” Officer Carlson said.
Officer Carlson took the man – who was later identified as Alex Sampson – into an empty hallway and placed handcuffs on him.
“The male party did not resist and placed his hands behind his back without issue,” Officer Carlson said. Adding, “The male stated that he was the one who was assaulted. Multiple people were yelling that the male party was attacking people and getting in everyone’s face.”
According to police, Alex B. Sampson, Sr., 59, is a resident of 65 Harrison Street, Apt. 2, in Leominster.
Officer Carlson then spoke with the Market Basket employee who had reported the incident to the police, after he was alerted by a customer to Sampson’s alleged actions.
The employee explained that although he wasn’t sure what provoked the incident, Sampson “got into a customer’s face” and started yelling. The employee stepped in, positioning himself between Sampson and the customer to de-escalate the situation. The employee added that when he intervened, Sampson threatened to kill him, stating that he would wait outside the supermarket until he finished work “so they could see what happens” then.
“[The employee] stated while he was on the phone with police, Alex grabbed the cell phone out of his hand and threw the phone on the ground,” Officer Carlson added.
Officer Carlson then spoke with another Market Basket employee who witnessed the altercation.
“[The other employee] stated at one point he had his back turned towards Alex and was told to watch out behind him,” Officer Carlson said. “[The employee] then turned around and saw Alex with his fist raised and his arm cocked back. [The employee] thought that Alex was going to punch him.”
Officer Carlson then spoke with another witness who stated that he was minding his own business, when, out of the blue, Sampson threw “an 18-count box” of potato chips at him.
“[The witness] stated that even though it did not hit him, it could have,” Officer Carlson said. “[The man] stated he did not engage with Alex, so he was unsure why he was starting issues with him.”
After speaking with the witness, another witness approached Officer Carlson saying he would like to give a statement.
“[The second witness] stated he saw Alex punch/slap a female in the face, but the female had already left the store before police arrived,” Officer Carlson recounted. “[The man] stated he was standing by and getting ready to help detain Alex if it was needed. [He] stated that [the employee who intervened] was doing his best at attempting to calm Alex down and not provoke Alex in anyway. I then went outside and informed Alex that he is being placed under arrest. When I attempted to tell Alex what the charges were, he began to yell and would not listen to me.”
At this point, Officer Nicholas Rice informed Officer Carlson that another witness, who had recorded part of the incident on her cell phone, was heading to the Leominster Police Department to discuss what she observed with Officer Carlson.
Officer Carlson reported that when the woman arrived at the station, she was escorted to Interview Room 2. The woman stated that Sampson approached a family where a little girl was holding onto a grocery cart. According to her account, Sampson grabbed the cart and attempted to lift it while the girl still had her hand on it, which made the girl cry.
The woman stated that Sampson attempted to punch her just before she started recording the incident on her cell phone.
“[She] stated Alex was threatening everyone in the store,” Officer Carlson recounted. “[She] stated that Alex was ‘terrorizing the front end of Market Basket.’”
The woman said that Sampson threw multiple items, among them, a stack of red coolers, wet floor signs, and shopping carriages. She added that Sampson placed his hands under the armpits of the employee who had intervened in his initial altercation with a customer, lifted him off the ground, and moved him aside.
“[The woman] stated in the video, a male party punched Alex but that was only because the male party was attempting to protect her after she was assaulted by Alex and that he was the father of the little girl that was crying because of Alex,” Officer Carlson said. The woman provided the video of the incident to police.
Officer Carlson then called another witness that Officer Rice had talked to earlier that evening. She said that as she was paying at the register, she saw Sampson get in the face of the Market Basket employee who first intervened in his fight.
“[She] stated [the Market Basket employee] was trying to calm Alex down and stated multiple times that he would not touch Alex,” Officer Carlson recounted. “[The woman] stated Alex then kept getting into the face of [the employee].”
The witness said that Sampson then pushed the employee multiple times.
“[She] stated that Alex flipped a shopping cart and that caused a little girl to start crying. [She] stated Alex kept grabbing items and throwing them around the store,” Officer Carlson said.
The woman added that she attempted to calm Sampson down, but nothing worked. She mentioned that everyone in the store was watching the incident, and multiple children were crying.
“[The witness] stated this was all unprovoked and that Alex was saying people were laughing at him and calling him names, but no one was doing that,” Officer Carlson said. “[The woman] stated she also witnessed [the Market Basket employee] get picked up by Alex and that also scared her.”
At this time, Officer Mackenson Adescar informed Officer Carlson that he spoke with two additional witnesses and provided Officer Carlson with their contact information. Officer Carlson left a voicemail for one of the witnesses and spoke on the phone with the other.
The witness said that when he came into the entrance of Market Basket, he noticed that there was “a large gathering” of people trying to calm down a man who was “very amped up.”
“[The witness] stated Alex lunged at a cart that a woman was pushing, and he attempted to flip the cart,” Officer Carlson said.
The witness reported that Sampson lunged past the employees toward a woman because he was “trying to get at her.” Several patrons intervened, restraining Sampson before he could attack the woman.
“[The witness] stated a gentleman then took a swing at Alex and hit him in the head,” Officer Carlson said.
The witness stated that it was clear from the moment he walked in that Sampson was the dominant aggressor. He observed that Sampson appeared ready to fight, with his fists clenched the entire time. The witness added that Sampson “had a 1000-yard stare and nothing was going to calm him down.”
After speaking with the witnesses, Officer Carlson charged Sampson with the following (the officer’s reasoning is provided):
- Assault with Dangerous Weapon: For “throwing the box of chips at [a person in the store].”
- Disorderly Conduct: “Alex recklessly caused a risk of public alarm by threatening multiple innocent customers and workers of Market Basket with his tumultuous behavior,” Officer Carlson said.
- Vandalize Property: “Alex threw a cell phone onto the floor causing slight scratch marks; Alex also threw multiple objects around the store.
- Witness Intimidation: “Alex physically took the phone from [the Market Basket employee] while he was attempting to speak with 911.”
- Assault and Battery: “Alex physically used both his hands to pick [the Market Basket employee] up off the ground and push him to the side.”
- Assault (count one): “Alex lunged through a group of people and attempted to punch [a woman].”
- Assault (count two): “Alex had his fist clenched while his arm was cocked back ready to punch [a man] while he was turned away from Alex.”
Sampson’s bail was set at $10,000.
Sampson was arraigned in Leominster District Court on July 18, 2024.
During his arraignment, the Commonwealth filed a motion to revoke Sampson’s bail because of a new arrest. Judge Mark Noonan allowed the motion without prejudice. During his arraignment, Judge Noonan also requested a 15a mental health evaluation for Sampson. On the criminal docket entries for 7/18/24, Judge Noonan wrote, “Dr. Pearson requests further evaluation be conducted at Bridgewater Hospital (Chapter 123 Section 15B) for competence to stand trial and criminal responsibility.”
Sampson attended a pretrial hearing on Aug. 2, 2024. On the date of his pretrial hearing (8/2/24) the judge wrote on the criminal docket that the 15a evaluation was returned and permission was granted to Sampson’s attorney to inspect and copy the mental health evaluation.
Sampson’s next court date was Aug. 19, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from July, 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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