CLINTON — On Friday, October 11, 2024, at 3:29 p.m., Clinton Police Officers Gerald Guerra and Adam Prentiss were dispatched to Wachusett Liquors at 671 Main Street after the store owner reported a man had entered the building, gone to a second-floor apartment, and stolen money. The store owner provided video footage of the incident.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Guerra and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Guerra noted, “This particular building is composed of a large parking lot, a liquor store and numerous apartments on the upper floors.”
When Officers Guerra and Prentiss arrived on scene, they entered the building through the front door where they were met with the owner of Wachusett Liquors.
“He appeared nervous and began a conversation with us,” Officer Guerra said. “[The store owner] informed us that a male party had entered the building through the front door, went upstairs to an apartment on the second floor, and committed a B&E [breaking and entering]. He then directed us inside the liquor store where he showed us video footage of a male party wearing what appeared to be a black jacket with lettering on the upper left chest area and blue jeans. The male party in the video appeared to be a white male, approximately 6 feet tall with long hair and a full beard.”
Officer Guerra said the store owner told him that he recognized the man in the video as a regular customer who frequents the liquor store.
“He added that the same party was inside the store the day before buying lottery tickets, but [the store owner] did not know the male party’s name,” Officer Guerra said. “In the video, the male party walks past a dumpster located in the rear of the building, goes around the side of the building, and enters through the front door. The male party did not go inside the liquor store, but according to [the store owner], the male went directly up the stairs to the second floor which was not caught on camera. [The store owner] stated that the victim, [a 32-year-old woman] screamed and the male party is heard running downstairs, exits the front door, and continues running around the other side of the building towards Clark Street which is located behind the liquor store.”
Officer Guerra added that the owner of the store said that both he and an employee of his saw the man.
The store employee is the husband of the woman who the man encountered on the second floor after he allegedly entered the building.
“After observing the video footage, I requested extra units to our location to assist with locating the male party,” Officer Guerra said.
Shortly thereafter, Clinton Police Officers Kristopher Vazquez and Brian O’Malley arrived on scene and began searching for the suspect while Officers Prentiss and Guerra remained inside the store to continue watching the surveillance footage and speak with the woman on the second floor who allegedly encountered the man.
“When [the woman] came downstairs to speak with me, I immediately took note that she appeared to be extremely nervous, distraught, shaking, and was having a hard time putting sentences together due to what had happened and there being a language barrier,” Officer Guerra said. “[The store owner] assisted in translating part of my conversation with [the woman]. Due to the nature of the call and [the woman] being nervous, I offered medical attention which she declined. I asked her if she could describe what happened.”
The woman told Officer Guerra that her husband is an employee at Wachusett Liquors and that she had brought him lunch while he was working that day.
“She stated that she stayed inside the liquor store for a period of time then went upstairs to her second-floor apartment where she observed the same male party from the video, inside her apartment, taking cash out of her wallet and putting it in a black bag that he had on his person, hanging on the side of his right hip,” Officer Guerra recounted. “She stated that she started screaming in her language, ‘Who are you? Who are you?’ and that the male party immediately ran out of the apartment, down the stairs, and out the front door.”
The woman said that she had seen the same man in the store and the parking lot the day before but did not know his name. She added that the man took approximately $60 in denominations of $5- and $10-dollar bills from her wallet.
“I asked [the woman] if she would be willing to provide a written statement, which she agreed to do,” Officer Guerra said. “I informed her that due to what had just happened, I would return later in the shift so that she can have time to process the incident. At one point, [the woman] became emotional, crying while expressing that she was scared.”
Officer Guerra said that while he was speaking with the woman, Officer Prentiss continued to review the surveillance footage with the woman’s husband.
“I informed her and [the store owner] that officers were canvasing the area at this time and to call 911 if the male returns,” Officer Guerra said. “I then met with Officer Prentiss who informed me that he identified the male party in the video as Lee Gerheart from past interactions he has had with him as a police officer.”
According to police, Lee Gerheart, 45, is a resident of 167 Church Street, Clinton, MA.
“Throughout the shift, units continued to check the area and spoke with numerous residents in regards to Mr. Gerhart’s whereabouts,” Officer Guerra said. “Units collected information that Mr. Gerhart was seen running from Wachusett Liquors towards Clark Street then continued onto Water Street. A local business showed video footage of Mr. Gerhart running up Water Street towards High Street and going behind the post office located at 320 High Street shortly after the incident that took place at 665 Main Street. Units thoroughly checked the area and other business in the downtown district, to no avail.”
At approximately 9:05 p.m., Patrolman Vazquez reported over the radio that, during his foot patrol, he spotted Gerhart inside P&S Pizza at 319 High Street.
Officers O’Malley, Prentiss and Guerra immediately responded to P&S Pizza, where they observed Gerhart conducting business at the cash register.
“As we remained outside, Officer Prentiss positively identified Mr. Gerhart who was still wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. Mr. Gerhart was also holding a black plastic bag,” Officer Guerra said. “Once he was positively identified, we made our way inside P&S pizza. I asked Mr. Gerhart to step outside to which he complied. While outside, I read him his Miranda rights off a card I carry with me. I informed him of the reason for our presence and asked if he would be willing to speak to me. Mr. Gerhart advised us that he does not recall being at Wachusett Liquors or the apartments at 665 Main Street earlier. Officer Prentiss showed Mr. Gerheart a picture that was provided by [the store owner] earlier on scene from the video footage. Mr. Gerheart admitted that he is the male in the picture.”
Gerheart was placed under arrest and transported to the Clinton Police Station for booking.
Officer Guerra said that Clinton Police Officer Kristopher Vazquez then went to speak with the woman about the voluntary statement and provided her with an update.
“She stated that she would come to the police station the next day which she did,” Officer Guerra reported. “It should be noted that while taking an inventory of Mr. Gerheart’s property in booking, an open bottle of Absolut Vodka, about three quarters full, was found inside the plastic bag that he was in possession of. Officer Brian O’Malley took the open container as well as Mr. Gerheart’s black jacket, photographed them and logged them as evidence.”
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, at approximately 11:04 a.m., the woman and her family arrived at the Clinton Police Station to provide a voluntary statement.
“Officer Prentiss and I conducted a voluntary, video and audio recorded interview with [the woman] and a family member who she brought with her to translate,” Officer Guerra said. “During the interview, [the woman] provided details about the incident to include an assault and battery that took place. She told me during the interview that when she observed Mr. Gerheart, she was scared and in fear that he could potentially have a gun or a knife at which point she started screaming. According to [the woman], Mr. Gerheart placed his hand on her left shoulder and pushed her as he was running out the door, causing her to fall. [The woman] was not injured, but confirmed that she closed the door when she went downstairs to bring her husband his lunch but didn’t lock it.”
Gerheart was charged with the following:
- Breaking & Entering Daytime to Commit Felony
- Larceny Under $1,200
- Disturbing the Peace
- Assault and Battery
- Town By-Law Open Container
Gerheart’s bail was set at $500.
Gerheart was arraigned in Clinton District Court on Oct. 15, 2024. Following his arraignment, he was released on bail with the potential for bail revocation under the condition that he stay away from Wachusett Liquors and the apartments above it and not contact the female victim.
Gerheart attended a pretrial hearing on Nov. 18, 2024, which was continued to Dec. 10, 2024.
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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