WINCHENDON — On Sunday, August 18, 2024, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Officer Justin Smith of the Winchendon Police Department was dispatched to the CVS Pharmacy located at 301 Central Street, following a report that there was an intoxicated woman in the parking lot who had been walking to a vehicle in the parking lot and then returning to the store multiple times.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed personnel narrative of Officer Smith and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
When he arrived on scene, Officer Smith met the reporting party across the parking lot from where the intoxicated woman was last seen.
“The woman, later identified as Stephanie Brown, was wearing a light blue shirt, pink Winnie-the-Pooh pants, and was holding a pink backpack,” Officer Smith said. “[The reporting party] told me she overheard the CVS employees telling Stephanie to leave the store and suspected she may have stolen something.”
According to police, Stephanie L. Brown, 40, is a resident of 88 Spruce Street, Winchendon, MA. She’s an unemployed widow.
Officer Smith said he located Brown in the parking lot, standing near the front passenger door of a red Chevrolet Traverse, which was registered to her.
“The Chevrolet was poorly parked over the guideline on the right side of the vehicle,” Officer Smith said. “As I approached Stephanie, she was putting her wallet back into her backpack and had an eyeliner pen in her mouth as if it was a cigarette. Stephanie held the eyeliner in her hand like a cigarette and made motions a few times as if she was going to take a puff of it.”
Officer Smith said he “could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her person and could see that her eyes were bloodshot and glassy.” He added that Brown’s speech was slow and slurred at times.
“When asked, Stephanie told me she had driven to CVS and had drinks in her car in the parking lot,” Officer Smith said. “Stephanie put the eyeliner in her backpack. I asked Stephanie how much she had to drink today and she said ‘a couple of nips, and I had a couple of nips with Steven.’ I told Stephanie I would not be letting her drive from CVS based on my initial observations, and I would not be looking into an OUI investigation (at the moment) since there was a report she had shoplifted. I asked Stephanie if the employees were going to tell me if she shoplifted, and she said ‘no I haven’t been anywhere, nope.’”
Officer Smith asked Brown if she had been inside the store at all and she said “”no I came inside, the girl said she couldn’t serve me so I left.”
“I asked Stephanie if she knew where she was, as her statement made me believe she thought she was at a bar, and she said CVS, also telling me she was trying to get Fireball,” Officer Smith said. “I told Stephanie CVS does not sell alcohol and she was sure they did. The inconsistencies and odd statements further raised my suspicions about Stephanie’s level of intoxication, as this is a common behavior I have seen through my training and experience with people under the influence of alcohol.”
Officer Smith went into CVS and spoke with the on-duty manager and an employee.
“I asked if Stephanie walked out with anything, and [the manager] told me she saw her leave with a cosmetic off the cosmetic wall and a Red Bull which she opened, drank, and did not pay for,” Officer Smith recounted. “[The manager] also said Stephanie was not making sense and had tried to pay, but did not.”
The manager reported that Brown said she had been driving and found her keys tucked on a shelf in the store. Officer Smith later recovered the keys and confirmed they belonged to Brown’s Chevrolet by pressing a button on the key fob.
Sergeant Gerald Gagne, who also responded to the scene, then met with the manager to examine the store’s the surveillance footage to see if Brown could be seen driving the Chevrolet into the CVS parking lot, Officer Smith said.
“Sgt. Gagne later informed me [the manager] had seen Stephanie rip the eyeliner from the shelf in the cosmetic section of the store, and also was at the register when Stephanie failed to pay for the Red Bull,” Officer Smith added.
While Sgt. Gagne reviewed the surveillance footage, Officer Smith went back out to the parking lot to speak with Stephanie.
Officer Smith asked Brown where she was coming from and she said 88 Spruce Street (the address of her residence).
“I asked Stephanie how many drinks she had again, and she told me ‘three or more because I can’t remember the count,’” Officer Smith said. “I asked Stephanie if she would be willing to do some roadside assessments so I could gauge her ability to drive. Stephanie said she would. Stephanie proceeded to try and open her front passenger door several times, and looked for her keys. I walked with Stephanie to a more suitable painted white line and flat pavement in the parking lot where the assessments were conducted. Stephanie grabbed my hand while walking and I asked if she was going to fall over. Stephanie said ‘yeah I feel like it.’”
Once they reached the location where they were going to perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), Officer Smith asked Brown if she wore glasses or contacts and she told him that she wore glasses that were in Gardner.
“I asked Stephanie if she was able to see me and the stimulus (the tip of my silver pen) clearly and she said yes,” Officer Smith said. “I asked Stephanie if she took medications, and she told me she did. I asked if they would impact her performance on the tests, and she said yes, indicating she last took her medications at 11:45am. I asked Stephanie if she had any other medical problems that would impact her performance and she said no. There was enough sunlight and lights in the parking lot to illuminate the pavement, which was wet, flat, and had some thin cracking with no bumps. Stephanie was wearing slippers.”
The first test Officer Smith asked Brown to perform was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. According to findlaw.com, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test is a field sobriety test where an officer has an individual follow an object (such as a pen tip or pen light) with his/her eyes. The HGN test checks for the involuntary jerking of one’s eyes as they gaze side to side. This involuntary jerkiness is said to increase while under the influence of alcohol.
“I had Stephanie stand with her feet together and her hands down by her side,” Officer Smith said. “Stephanie could not stand up straight, she was leaning to her right in this position. Stephanie said she could see the tip of the stimulus (silver pen).”
Officer Smith said he then explained and demonstrated the test for Brown and asked her if she was ready to take it.
“Stephanie asked if she could use my pen then proceeded to turn her body away to my left,” Officer Smith said. “I told Stephanie she needed to face me to see the pen and she said, ‘but I am turned sideways and it’s not working.’ I directed Stephanie to face me and she apologized and said she was looking at a girl in a nearby car. During the administrative portion of this test, I was able to see Stephanie had equal pupil size and equal tracking. I could see a lack of smooth pursuit in both of Stephanie’s eyes, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation in both eyes, and an early onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees in both eyes. I had to remind Stephanie at least four times to stop moving her head and to only move her eyes. Stephanie had moved her head on nearly every pass, and had stopped following the stimulus only to look at me at least three times. I asked Stephanie if she understood my instructions and she said yes.”
The next step Officer Smith asked Brown to perform was the “nine step walk-and-turn” test. his test requires the subject to count out loud as they take nine heel-to-toe steps along a straight line (like a visible line on a road), then turn on one foot and return in the opposite direction.
“I began to explain the instructions for the test by having Stephanie put her right foot in front of her left touching heel-to-toe along the painted white line she was on,” Officer Smith said. “Stephanie said she could see the line when asked. Stephanie put her left in front of her right and did not touch heel-to-toe, tried again, and stumbled. Stephanie said she could not do it because her ‘toe had gotten worse.’ I asked Stephanie if she wanted to do this test and she said ‘I can’t, I need a different test.’”
The third test Officer Smith asked Brown to perform was the “one-leg stand” test. This test involves lifting one leg about six inches from the ground, while holding the foot in a position parallel to the ground, with arms kept at the sides.
Officer Smith said that after he explained the test and demonstrated it to Brown he asked her if she understood the instruction and she said yes and added that she did not need them repeated to her.
When he told her to begin, Officer Smith said Brown moved to the place where he was standing when he demonstrated the test and then attempted the test.
“Stephanie tried several times to lift her foot and keep it raised until she started saying ‘I can’t, I can’t do it. Yeah, I can’t do it.’ I terminated the test,” Officer Smith said. “I asked Stephanie if she would take a preliminary breath test to confirm or deny my suspicions and she said she would. Officer [Daniel] Caputi returned to the station to pick up the device. Given my observations of Stephanie, her performance (or lack thereof) on roadside assessments, and from my training and experience, I formulated the opinion she had a diminished capacity to safety operate a motor vehicle. CVS has two entrances, one along Central Street and one along Maple Street. Both are public ways. CVS was also open at the time of this incident and the parking lot was open to the public.”
Officer Smith said that Brown told him she hadn’t used any drugs that day.
“I asked Stephanie when she had drank alcohol, and she said ten minutes ago,” Officer Smith said. “Stephanie denied taking the eyeliner and the Red Bull and said she paid for them. Sgt. Gagne asked for a receipt and Stephanie could not provide one. I asked Stephanie about the eyeliner and she said one of them belonged to her kid. Stephanie then began talking about something not related to this incident at all.”
Officer Smith said that at this time, Sgt. Gagne recovered the eyeliner he originally saw in Brown’s mouth from her backpack.
“I showed it to Stephanie and asked if it was hers,” Officer Smith said. “Stephanie said no. I asked why it was in her backpack, and she said she was not sure and never used it. Officer Caputi returned with the PBT device [breath test machine] however it was inoperable due to the straw not being able to be seated in the device.”
Officer Smith informed Brown that she was under arrest for shoplifting and operating under the influence (OUI) and handcuffed her.
“I searched Stephanie for weapons before Officer Caputi transported her to the station for booking,” Officer Smith explained.
Sgt. Gagne requested Brooks Automotive for a tow and completed a motor vehicle inventory per department policy. He found a nearly empty Fireball nip in the Chevrolet’s glove box, along with the packaging from the eyeliner near Stephanie’s vehicle. According to Officer Smith, Sgt. Gagne had Officer Caputi ask Stephanie if she needed her bag of medication from her vehicle, to which she replied that she did. He returned to the station with Stephanie’s medications after Brooks Automotive towed the Chevrolet to their shop.
“In the close confines of the booking room, I could still detect the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Stephanie,” Officer Smith said. “For the duration of the booking process, Stephanie would look as though she was nodding off, look around as if she dropped something, and stood up at random times. Stephanie was booked, her property inventoried, and afforded all applicable rights including her right to a doctor under MGL c.263s.5A. I read Stephanie her statutory rights (I also allowed Stephanie to read the form herself) and asked for consent for an evidentiary sample of breath, to which Stephanie agreed to and indicated her choice and understanding of her rights by signing the respective form. I am a certified breath test operator and conducted the test on the station’s Draeger Alcotest 9510. Stephanie provided two breath samples. The machine indicated her BAC [blood alcohol content] was .07%. As Stephanie’s BAC was below the statutory limit, I did not seize her license.”
Officer Smith said that Officer Caputi then notified him that he had advised Brown of her Miranda rights.
“I asked Stephanie if she remembered when I started talking with her, and she said yes,” Officer Smith said. “I asked if she drank alcohol before that point and she said yes. I asked how long before and Stephanie said a couple of hours. I asked Stephanie if she drank at her home and she said yes. I asked Stephanie if she went to CVS after that and she said yes.”
Officer Smith said that during an inventory of Brown’s pink backpack, Officer Caputi found a plastic bag with 57 8mg/2mg Suboxone (Buprenorphine) sublingual film packages with a prescription label on the front.
“The label indicated a quantity of 24 with no refills dated for July 30, 2024,” Officer Smith said. “Instructions said ‘dissolve three films under the tongue daily.’ It would take eight days for her to use all of the prescribed Suboxone, which if taken properly, would have been finished by August 7. Given the sheer quantity, the lack of a prescription bottle, and the Suboxone being in her possession, I seized the Suboxone (a Class B substance) as evidence of possession of a controlled substance.”
Since our launch in February 2022, News Link Live has reached over 1.1 million viewers in Massachusetts and beyond. Interested in a targeted advertising campaign? Contact us at newslinklivealerts@gmail.com or fill out the form on the page below to schedule a call and explore your options today!
Officer Smith said that an unknown white, oval pill that had been cut in half was found in the plastic bag of medications along with two cut straws.
Officer Smith said Brown’s bail was set at personal recognizance (i.e. it was set at $0.00) and at 11:17 p.m. that evening, she was released to a “sober and responsible friend.”
“Officer Caputi did not complete an inventory of all of Stephanie’s medications before she was released due to the sheer amount of individual pills,” Officer Smith added. “I will be sending an immediate threat form to the RMV along with this report.”
Officer Smith added, “In the surveillance videos gathered by Sgt. Gagne, the red Chevrolet Traverse is seen pulling into the same parking spot it was found in around 6:15 p.m. Stephanie, wearing the light blue shirt and pink Winnie-the-Pooh pants with a pink backpack, is seen getting out of the driver’s seat after sitting in the vehicle for around 15 seconds and walking into the store at 6:16 p.m. Stephanie is seen again at 7:15 p.m. near the cosmetic section where she was approached by [the manager]. Stephanie appears to finish a drink and leave the can on a nearby shelf. Stephanie is seen again at 7:21 p.m. at the counter with [the manager], and appears to not pay for her Red Bull before being asked to leave. The Red Bull was valued at $3.69 and the eyeliner at $13.99. The videos were entered into property.
Brown with charged with the following, for the following reasons:
- OUI Liquor or .08%: “As Stephanie operated MA Reg. [number redacted] along Central Street and the parking lot of CVS (both public ways as defined by the Commonwealth), while having a diminished ability to safely operate a motor vehicle due to being under the influence of alcohol, she was charged with OUI Liquor under MGL c.90 s.24,” Officer Smith said.
- Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle: “As Stephanie operated MA Reg. [number redacted] along Central St. and the parking lot of CVS (both public ways as defined by the Commonwealth), a main road through the town and an open business, while under the influence of alcohol, she was charged with Negligent Operation under MGL c.90 s.24,” Officer Smith said.
- Shoplifting by Asportation: “As Stephanie intentionally took and carried away an L’Oreal eyeliner and consumed a Red Bull, intending to deprive the merchant (CVS) of all the retail value of the merchandise, she was charged with Shoplifting under MGL c.266 s.30A,” Officer Smith said.
- Possession of Class B Drug: “As Stephanie knowingly possessed (in her backpack) 57 packets of Suboxone without a valid prescription or other legal justification, she was charged with Possession of Class B Drug under MGL c.94C s.34,” Officer Smith said.
- No Inspection Sticker: “As Stephanie operated MA Reg. 2DHX13 along Central St. and the parking lot of CVS (both public ways as defined by the Commonwealth), with no valid inspection sticker, she was additionally cited with No Inspection Sticker under MGL c.90 s.20,” Officer Smith said.
Brown was arraigned in Winchendon District Court on Aug. 18, 2024. Her next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Oct. 16, 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
