LEOMINSTER — On Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, Officer Robert Connors, Officer Bradon Carlson, and Officer Jonathan Ramos of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to the parking lot of the McDonald’s located at 302 N Main Street following a report of a two-vehicle accident without any injuries.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Connors and 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 arrived on scene, he observed both vehicles involved in the accident in the parking lot of McDonald’s. When he got out of the vehicle, he was met by the reporting party, a 62-year-old woman who was driving a red Chevrolet pickup truck.
“[She] stated the other vehicle had side swiped her and she flashed her lights at them to pull over,” Officer Carlson said. “[She] stated the male party driving (Tad Smith) asked her not to call the police and that they can work out a deal for the damage. [She] stated she told Tad she would be calling the police because she believed he was intoxicated. [She] stated that Tad then walked into McDonald’s while she was calling the police.”
According to police, Tad Smith, 39, is a resident of 148.5 Fifth Street, Apt. 1R, Leominster, MA.
“Tad then walked out of McDonald’s and stated that his vehicle was hit by the woman,” Officer Carlson said. “Tad stated that he had the whole incident on dash camera but refused to show the police the footage. Tad was asked to explain what happened with the accident, but he became extremely uncooperative. Tad refused to give any statements on the accident and said the police could figure out this investigation out on our own. Tad was extremely unsteady on his feet, had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his person and slurred speech while he was speaking with officers.”
When Officer Connors arrived on scene, Officers Braden Carlson and Ronald Ramos were already there, speaking with the individuals involved in the accident.
Officer Connors exited his cruiser and spoke with the woman who was driving the red Chevrolet pickup truck that she said was heading south on N Main Street at the time of the crash.
“[She] stated to Officer Ramos that she was in the middle lane, and was struck by a black Toyota pickup truck that was attempting to pass her,” Officer Connors said. “I noticed significant damage to the driver’s side of the red Chevrolet and to the passenger side of the black Toyota that was consistent with a side swipe accident.”
Officer Connors then went to speak with the operator of the black Toyota pickup truck, Tad Smith.
“Tad stated that the red Chevrolet had merged and hit his vehicle, and that he was ‘not driving improperly,’” Officer Connors recounted. “While speaking with Tad, I observed Tad’s overall state. Tad had glassy eyes, was slurring his speech, was unsteady on his feet and was swaying back and forth as well as stumbling when he walked, and had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.”
While speaking with Smith, Officer Connors saw a passenger of his vehicle, 37-year-old Dominic Dellechiaie, exit the driver’s side of Smith’s truck.
“When Dominic exited the vehicle, an empty nip bottle of alcohol fell out of the vehicle,” Officer Connors said. “I then asked Tad if he had been drinking alcohol today. Tad stated that he had not, but that he has diabetes. I asked Tad if he would like to be evaluated by the Leominster Fire Department ambulance, Tad declined.”
Officer Ramos then told Officer Connors that none of the officers on scene had observed Smith operating the black Toyota pickup truck, so Officer Connors asked the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident if she had seen who was operating the black Toyota.
“[The woman] stated that Tad was driving the black Toyota at the time of the accident,” Officer Connors said. “I asked Tad if he was driving the black Toyota when the accident occurred, Tad stated that he was driving the black Toyota.”
Officer Connors asked Smith if he would take some Standard Field Sobriety Tests [SFSTs] because he suspected Smith was operating under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
Smith told Officer Connors he would not submit to SFSTs, so Officer Connors placed him under arrest for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
“It is important to note that I dealt with Tad on 8/10/2024,” Officer Connors said. “I received a call for an erratic operator who had crashed into a fence. By the time that I was able to find Tad, he had made it home. Tad was operating the same black Toyota during this incident. While speaking with Tad in the driveway of his home, I observed similar signs of impairment, but I did not observe Tad operating his vehicle and was not able to get a statement from the reporting party. I issued Tad a citation for leaving the scene of property damage and advised him to not operate his truck for the rest of the day.”
According to Officer Carlson, at this point, a man, later identified as 51-year-old Jason Amirault, opened the rear door of Smith’s black Toyota and exited the truck. Amirault approached the officers, saying, “Are you going to arrest my f*cking brother?”
According to police, Jason J. Amirault, 51, is a resident of 85 Pacific Street, Apt. 1, in Fitchburg, MA.
“Jason then walked approximately within one foot of the police, while yelling in a loud aggressive tone and moving quickly,” Officer Carlson said. “Jason was told to back up and get away, even Tad told his brother to back away. I then had to let go of control of Tad to prevent Jason from having the ability to physically touch any officers or help his brother get away from police custody. I advised Jason to back up and placed my hand on his chest to push him backwards. Jason continued to yell that Tad didn’t do anything wrong. Jason was told that he would be placed under arrest for his actions and Jason stated he ‘didn’t f*ck*ng care because he has already spent 15 years in prison.’ Jason was asked why he got out of the vehicle and came after the police, and Jason stated because that’s his baby brother.”
Officer Carlson said that the woman in the other car involved in the accident was then asked if she would be worried that these people are going to do something to her because of this incident and she responded saying “she was concerned for her safety due to the actions of the involved parties.”
Amirault was placed under arrest for:
- Disorderly Conduct (Subsequent Offense)
- Witness Intimidation
“When I arrived back at the station, Tad stated to me that he was having problems in his marriage and admitted to me on body camera that he had consumed some alcohol earlier in the day. I offered to have Oscar 1 reach out to Tad to offer him resources and assistance with his drinking. Tad stated that he would like to explore these options. I placed an email to Oscar 1 to follow up with Tad at a later date.”
Also, while he was back at the station, Officer Ramos informed Officer Carlson that he found seven .38 special bullets under the driver’s seat of Smith’s black Toyota.
“At this time, I read Tad his Miranda Rights from a card provided to me by Officer Ramos. Tad stated that he understood these rights as they were read to him. Officer Carlson had also found multiple empty cans of Twisted Tea and several nips,” Officer Connors said.
Officer Connors charged Smith with the following for the following reasons:
OUI Liquor: “I observed Tad on scene at the accident, and formed the opinion that Tad was under the influence of liquor due to his glassy eyes, slurred speech, his unsteadiness on his feet, and the strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from Tad’s person,” Officer Connors said. “Tad’s operation of the black Toyota was confirmed by [the female driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident], and corroborated by Tad’s statement that he was the one operating the vehicle. When back at the station, Tad consented to take a breath test. Officer [Christian] Edge administered the test on the department issued Drager Alcotest 9510. The results of this test were that Tad blew a .29%, which is above the legal limit of .08%.”
Improper Storage of Ammunition: “Tad had seven .38 special bullets under his driver seat,” Officer Connors said. “These bullets were found by Officer Carlson during his inventory of the black Toyota due to it being towed.”
Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle: “Tad’s operation of the black Toyota put the general public, [the female driver in the other car involved in the accident] and his passengers at risk. His operation was confirmed by [the female driver in the other car involved in the accident]. Tad was operating a motor vehicle on N Main Street, which is a public way that is maintained by the City of Leominster.”
Marked Lanes Violation: “Tad had attempted to pass [the female driver in the other car involved in the accident] where two lanes turned into one,” Officer Connors said. “Tad crossed over the white line in an attempt to pass [the female driver in the other car involved in the accident].”
Smith and Amirault were arraigned in Leominster District Court on Aug. 12, 2023. Both men were released on their own personal recognizance following their arraignments. Smith is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Sept. 30, 2024, while Amirault has a pretrial hearing set for the same day.
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
