SHREWSBURY — According to Shrewsbury Police Officer Alex DeSimone, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, at approximately 11:57 a.m., an individual known to police, Joseph Gardner, was driving on Boston Turnpike in a vehicle registered to him that had an expired registration and failed inspection sticker.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts for the incident written by Officer DeSimone and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
According to police, Joseph H. Gardner, 41, is a resident of 193 Vernon Street, Apt. 2, Worcester, MA.
“Please note, the Shrewsbury Police Department is familiar with Gardner through numerous B&E’s [breaking and entering incidents] in our town, along with receiving stolen property and multiple other investigations,” Officer DeSimone said.
Officer DeSimone reported that a detective in an unmarked car observed Gardner pulling into the Shell gas station at 271 Boston Turnpike, where he remained for nearly 30 minutes, during which time he threw multiple bags of items into a donation bin.
“Officers believed he waited at Shell because he knew police were in the area, and he threw items into the donation bin because they were stolen and he did not want to be caught with them,” Officer DeSimone said. “Please note all bags were thrown in the bin with time in between as if he was bagging them on site.”
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Officer DeSimone stated that “eventually” Gardner left the gas station. As he pulled his truck onto Route 9, he immediately noticed police cruisers waiting for him. He then put the truck in reverse, backing it up on Route 9 before pulling into the parking lot at 263 Boston Turnpike.
“Officers activated their emergency blue lights, and when Gardner saw police, he ran on foot. After a short foot pursuit, he was detained without incident,” Officer DeSimone said.
Officer DeSimone said that after Gardner was apprehended, police located 2.41 grams of methamphetamines on his person as well as numerous designer bags and clothing with tags still attached along with checks, cards, and IDs with other people’s names on them.
Officer DeSimone added, “Gardner put the motoring public in significant danger as Route 9 is a heavily trafficked single direction roadway.”
Gardner was charged with the following:
- Operating to endanger
- Unregistered Motor Vehicle
- Receiving Stolen Property
- Possession Class B Substance (Subsequent Offense)
- Resisting Arrest
- Fail to Stop for Police
- No Inspection Sticker
Gardner’s bail was set at $2,500 cash.
Gardner was arraigned in Westborough District Court on Oct. 10, 2024.
Following his arraignment, Gardner was held on bail with the potential for bail revocation.
On Oct. 18, 2024, he attended a pretrial hearing, which was continued to Nov. 15, 2024. As of Nov. 15, 2024, he had still not posted bail and was transported back to jail following his hearing on that date.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from October, 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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