Leominster man arrested after domestic dispute over denied sexual advances, bites officer, sent to Bridgewater for evaluation

LEOMINSTER — On the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, Officer Michael Dingman and Officer Renzo Vasconcelos of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to 75B Terrace Drive, Apt. 5, following a report of a male and female arguing and throwing things around the apartment.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Michael Dingman, Officer Renzo Vasconcelos, Officer Robert Connors, and Sergeant Richard Woodward, and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

When Officers Dingman and Vasconcelos arrived on scene, they entered apartment five, where they were met with the reporting party, Aileen [last named redacted]. Aileen told the officers that her boyfriend of two years, Dominic Castiello, punched her in the mouth and then fled their apartment on foot.

According to police, Dominic M. Castiello, 21, is a resident of 75B Terrace Drive, Apt. 5, Leominster, MA.

Officer Vasconcelos asked Aileen which way Castiello went and what he was wearing when he left.

“Aileen said Dominic was wearing a mask, black hoodie, black sweatpants, and has an ankle monitor on,” Officer Vasconcelos said. “Aileen said Dominic was headed towards Litchfield Street.”

After hearing this, Officer Vasconcelos left the apartment and started searching the area for Dominic, while Officer Jonathan Ramos was dispatched to assist in the search.

Officer Dingman radioed dispatch with Dominic’s description, then stayed in the apartment to continue interviewing Aileen about the alleged altercation.

“Aileen stated her sister, Alisha [last name redacted], came over today at approximately 7 a.m.,” Officer Dingman said. “Dominic wanted to have sexual relations with Aileen but she did not want to have them since her sister was over the house. Aileen stated Dominic is very controlling of her and did not like her denying him today. He became terribly upset and started throwing items around the apartment.”

Aileen told Officer Dingman that after Castiello began throwing things around the apartment, she walked into the living room and found herself cornered by him at the front door, where Domenic then punched her on the right side of her mouth. Aileen was uncertain which hand Domenic used to punch her.  

“She indicated the punch was to the right side of her mouth,” Officer Dingman noted in his report. “She showed me her mouth, but I did not see an obvious injury. I radioed for Leominster Fire to respond to the address.”

Officer Dingman stated that while he was gathering further information from Aileen, he was informed that Officer Ramos located Castiello in front of Il Camino, an Italian restaurant located at 555 Central Street. Officer Dingman told dispatch that there was probable cause to arrest Castiello for domestic violence and continued interviewing Aileen.

“Aileen then stated she called the crisis hotline of [Community Healthlink] CHL to report the incident,” Officer Dingman added. “Domenic became further upset and approached Aileen near the living room sofa. Aileen then hung up the phone. She stated she was going to call 911, and Domenic began to plead with her not to call the police. Dominic then pushed her and grabbed the phone in her hand to prevent her from calling 911. Aileen stated Dominic grabbed the cloth hanging on the wall and threw it.”

Officer Dingman inquired whether there was any damage to items in the apartment, to which Aileen responded that there was none.

“Aileen stated that prior to Dominic’s leaving the apartment, he grabbed a cord and wrapped it around his neck stating he does not want to live,” Officer Dingman said.

Officer Dingman then approached Alisha, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, and asked if she would speak with him.

“I asked if I could speak to her, and she agreed to talk to me,” Officer Dingman said. “Alisha stated Dominic was upset about something as he was yelling very loudly. He threw the cloth hanging up on the wall. He then cornered Aileen near the sofa and began pushing her. Alisha stated Dominic was grabbing Aileen’s phone in her hand. Alisha stated she did not witness the punch to Aileen’s mouth.”

At this time, emergency medical technicians with the Leominster Fire Department arrived on scene and evaluated Aileen for injuries. Aileen declined medical attention.

“I read the Abused Person’s Notice of Rights form to Aileen,” Officer Dingman said. “The domestic violence dangerousness worksheet was filled out. Aileen wanted a 209a [abuse prevention] order and the court was open at this time. I radioed Sergeant [Ny] Mao for approval to transport Aileen to the courthouse and it was granted. I transported Aileen to the courthouse and walked her inside. I then went back to the station to complete the report.”

When he returned to the station, Officer Dingman was informed that Officers Ramos, Vasconcelos, Johangel Lorenzo and Robert Connors had been assaulted by Castiello.

According to Officer Vasconcelos, when Castiello was located outside of Il Camino, Officer Ramos placed him into handcuffs, searched him, and then began escorting him to Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser so he could be transported to the Leominster Police Department for booking.

“While escorting Domenic to Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser, he kept dropping himself and stopping himself using his feet and not allowing us to escort him towards Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser,” Officer Vasconcelos said. “Once we finally got Dominic in front of the door to Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser, Dominic would not go inside the cruiser. Dominic then threw himself against Officer Ramos and knocked his body-worn camera off.”

Officer Vasconcelos said he then picked Castiello up from the ground and forced him into Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser.

“Domenic then sat up on the seat, but kept his right leg outside of the cruiser,” Officer Vasconcelos said. “I then warned Domenic that I would pepper spray him if he did not put his leg into the cruiser and showed him the pepper spray. Domenic then put his leg inside the cruiser and allowed us to close the door. Once Domenic was in Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser, he started smashing his head against the plastic divider. I advised Officer Lorenzo to bring Domenic back to the police station and I would be following him.”

Upon arrival at the Leominster Police Station, Officer Vasconcelos reported that he and Officer Lorenzo had to drag Castiello from Officer Lorenzo’s cruiser to the booking area because Castiello refused to walk on his own after being removed from the vehicle.

“Once in the booking area, we placed Domenic in the restraining chair,” Officer Vasconcelos said. “While attempting to place the restraint straps on Domenic, I was holding his chest down with my right hand. Domenic then put his head down and put his mouth around my right forearm and began biting me. I then elbowed Dominic’s face and told him to stop biting me. Domenic suffered no injuries from the elbow to the face. Due to the incident above, I have filed a Response to Resistance and Aggression form for displaying my OC [Oleoresin Capsicum, i.e. pepper] spray and elbowing Dominic in the face.”

Meanwhile Officer Robert Connors reported that he responded to the booking room of the Leominster Police Station following a report of a male party who was attempting to fight officers.

“When I arrived, I saw Dominic Castiello being put into restraints by other officers,” Officer Connors said. “I attempted to assist them by having Dominic remove his shoes so that he could be placed into a cell. Domenic kept tensing up to prevent myself and Officer Lorenzo from removing his shoes. I was kneeling by Domenic’s side to remove his shoes, approximately one foot from his knee. Due to the knot on his shoes being too tight to untie, I had to cut his laces to remove his shoes. This angered Domenic, who was restrained at the time, but was still able to move his knees. While I was removing his shoes, Domenic jerked his knee upwards in an attempt to knee me in the face. I pulled back, as based on the proximity of my face to Dominic’s knee, I feared that Dominic would knee me in the face. Domenic’s knee did not connect with my face during this attempt, and once he calmed down, I was able to remove his shoes with Officer Lorenzo’s assistance.”

According to Sergeant Richard Woodward, who was also involved in the booking process, after an hour in the restraint chair, Castiello calmed down and completed the booking process.

“After Mr. Castiello completed the booking process, he was escorted to male cell number one,” Sgt. Woodward said. “Mr. Castiello, when he was escorted to male cell number one, began fighting with officers and refused to go into the cell. Mr. Castiello threatened self-harm if he was placed into the cell. It was determined again that Mr. Castiello needed to be placed into the ERC [Emergency Restraint Chair] to keep staff safe from assault and to not allow Mr. Castiello to hurt himself.”

According to Sgt. Woodward, Castiello was placed into the restraint chair again without incident.

“While Mr. Castiello was in the ERC [Emergency Restraint Chair], our social worker Ms. Vanessa Rivera went to speak to Mr. Castiello to try to de-escalate Mr. Castiello to prevent injury to himself and staff,” Sgt. Woodward said. “While interviewing Mr. Castiello, Social Worker Rivera determined that Mr. Castiello would be unable to stay in a cell safely and would be a harm to himself and others. Mr. Castiello was placed on Section 12, transported to the hospital by Leominster EMS, and evaluated by CHL [Community Healthlink’s Behavioral Health Center]. It was determined Mr. Castiello would need to be seen by a forensic psychologist and would be unable to safely stay in a cell. After the forensic psychologist examined Mr. Castiello, it was determined that Mr. Castiello would not be safe in a cell and a Section 18 was initiated and granted.”

Castiello was transported to Bridgewater State Hospital without incident, Sgt. Woodward said.

“While I was back at the station, I received a call from Officer Vasconcelos while he was up at the hospital with Domenic,” Officer Dingman said. “Officer Vasconcelos made me aware that Aileen was pregnant with Domenic’s child. Officer Vasconcelos told me Dominic told him that information.”

Officer Dingman called Aileen on a recorded line at the station at approximately 6 p.m.

“I asked her if she was pregnant and she said yes,” Officer Dingman said. “She stated she was currently five months pregnant. She stated she found out back in July and they both found out together when she took an at home [pregnancy] test.”

Castiello was charged with the following:

1. Assault and Battery on a family/household member (Aileen)
2. Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (Officer Lorenzo)
3. Intimidation of a Witness (Aileen)
4. Assault and Battery on a Police Officer (Officer Ramos)
5. Assault (two counts) (Officers Connors and Vasconcelos)
6. Resisting Arrest (two counts)
7. Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Victim (Aileen)

Castiello was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Nov. 22, 2024. Following his arraignment, he was sent back to Bridgewater State Hospital for further evaluation and his bail was set at $2,500 cash.

On Dec. 20, 2024, he attended a status hearing via video.

Another status hearing was scheduled for Dec. 16, 2024.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from November, 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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