LEOMINSTER — On Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at approximately 4:00 p.m. Officer Johangel Lorenzo of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to the Leominster Public Library located at 30 West Street following a report that there was a man on the premises who had previously been trespassed.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed personnel narrative of Officer Lorenzo and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Upon arrival, I met with Raymond Whitney, who at the time was standing along the fence of the library’s property,” Officer Lorenzo said. “He mentioned placing his bike on the fence but emphasized that the wall was not on the property. It’s important to note that City Hall informed me that Raymond was trespassed from the library due to threats he made against an employee.”
According to police, Raymond P. Whitney III, 61, is a resident of 43 Sandy Cove Road in Lunenburg.
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Officer Lorenzo spoke with the director and assistant director of the library, Alex Lent and Nicole Butler, who both reported seeing Whitney in the building and said Whitney’s entry was captured on surveillance.
“They mentioned having video footage of Raymond entering the library and informed me that he had been trespassed previously due to threatening one of the library’s maintenance employees,” Officer Lorenzo said. “Nicole also mentioned that he arrived on a bike and parked it in front of the main doors before entering.”
At around this time, Officer Marjus Zylyftari arrived on scene.
“We spoke to Raymond and asked why he had returned to the library despite knowing he had been trespassed,” Officer Lorenzo said. “Raymond claimed that a City Hall employee had permitted him to return. Officer Zylyftari confirmed with dispatch that his trespass [notice] was for three months, starting on September 12, 2024. Raymond then insisted that he had never been on the property and argued that he couldn’t be trespassed if he had never been there. It’s important to note that he seemed uninterested in listening to us when we tried to advise him about his offense.”
Officer Lorenzo said that both he and Officer Zylyftari told Whitney that he was not allowed on the premises, or else he would be subject to arrest.
“Raymond was told he had to leave the property, and please note that we reiterated that many times,” Officer Lorenzo said. “However, he became very confrontational. We explained his options and warned him that he would be arrested if he did not comply. Despite this, he raised his voice at Officer Zylyftri. As a result of his uncooperative behavior, he was arrested for trespassing after being warned. Raymond tensed up and was warned to relax when we were placing him under arrest. He was then handcuffed, searched, and placed in the police car.”
Whitney was charged with trespass (one count).
He was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Sept. 27, 2024.
Following his arraignment, he was released on his own personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the Leominster Public Library.
Whitney’s next court date is a pretrial conference hearing scheduled for Oct. 31, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from September, 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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