Fitchburg woman arrested for pushing stove downstairs onto landlord’s car

FITCHBURG — Around 1:14 a.m. on August 13, 2024, Officer Matthew Pawson of the Fitchburg Police Department responded to 170 Prichard Street after the landlord reported that a tenant had pushed a stove down the stairs, damaging his vehicle in the driveway.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative and Statement of Facts in Support of Application for Criminal Complaint submitted to the Fitchburg District Court by Officer Pawson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“Upon arrival, I observed a stove which appeared thrown into the driveway of the residence next to a parked vehicle,” Officer Pawson said.

The vehicle the stove was next to was a red 2017 Nissan Rogue registered to the reporting party, Robert Casler. Casler, 62, resides in apartment number 2 at 170 Prichard Street, where he is also the landlord.

Officer Pawson spoke with Casler who said that his tenant, Sarah Brisebois, whom he was in the process of evicting, was being “very difficult.”

According to police, Sarah E. Brisebois, 35, resides at 170 Prichard Street, Apt. 1, in Fitchburg, MA.

“Robert stated that Sarah had removed the stove from her apartment and pushed it down the stairs which caused damage to his vehicle,” Officer Pawson said. Later adding, “Robert then stated that Sarah was currently in her first-floor apartment.”

According to Officer Pawson, as he was conducting his field interview with Casler, Brisebois opened the door to her apartment and “immediately began shouting” at Casler.

“I then asked Robert to wait inside of his apartment on the second floor to separate the two parties and to prevent further conflict,” Officer Pawson said. “Please note, Sarah was holding a nip of alcohol in her right hand and appeared to be highly intoxicated.”

Officer Pawson then spoke with Brisebois who said that Casler and his “boyfriend” robbed her while she was in the shower that evening.

“Sarah stated that her jean jacket and keys to her apartment were missing,” Officer Pawson said. “Sarah then stated that she had surveillance cameras throughout the house. Sarah later stated that she does not have any access to the video of Robert and his boyfriend allegedly inside of the house.”

Officer Esteban Bonilla-Perez then arrived on the scene, and both he and Officer Pawson entered Brisebois’ apartment.

“It should be noted that there were no signs of breaking or entering and nothing appeared to be out of place,” Officer Pawson said. “Sarah then brought us to the kitchen table where she stated she last saw her jean jacket and keys. I then asked Sarah what happened with the stove and she stated that she ‘pushed it out the door because it wasn’t working.’ Sarah stated that she was not aware that Robert was home.”

Officer Pawson then arrested Brisebois for vandalism.

“While attempting to place Sarah in handcuffs, she tensed her muscles and attempted to move her arms to free herself from my grasp,” Officer Pawson said. “Sarah then turned her body facing Officer Bonilla-Perez in an aggressive manner before complying. Sarah was then searched, placed in the rear of cruiser #36, and transported to 20 Elm Street for booking.”

Officer Bonilla-Perez remained on scene where he obtained contact information from Casler.

“Robert also stated to Officer Bonilla-Perez that he did not enter Sarah’s apartment and does not have access due to the fact that she has changed her locks,” Officer Pawson said.

Brisebois was arraigned by Judge James Haddad in Fitchburg District Court on Aug. 13, 2024, where she plead not guilty to one count of vandalize property. Following her arraignment, Brisebois was released on her own personal recognizance under the condition that she stay away from/not contact Casler and remain alcohol free with random testing.

Brisebois attended a pretrial hearing on Aug. 15, 2024, which was continued to Oct. 1, 2024.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

To learn more about News Link Live’s unique business model, please read the following:

An online business model that could replace local newspapers

The Medium is the Message by Marshall McCLuhan

The Ego and the ID by Sigmund Freud

Support News Link Live’s independent, local journalism, by making a donation today!

---

Have a tip, story idea, question, or interested in advertising with us? Get in touch!