Botched drug deal at Leominster group home ends with arrest of two women

LEOMINSTER — On Saturday, November 9, 2024, Officer Caulin Salvi of the Leominster Police Department was securing an unrelated crime scene at 51 Pearl Street, Apt. 3, when he heard two women screaming. According to police, 51 Pearl Street is a group home.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Salvi and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“Detective [John] Bouchard remained at the crime scene as I left to check the area,” Officer Salvi said. “I could hear two females screaming from the area between 51 and 45 Pearl Street. I came down the rear steps and observed two females actively engaged in attempting to throw the other to the ground. Both females had dislodged the other’s clothing and one female’s flannel shirt was pulled down to her bicep (Sofi). I ordered both females to separate as I shined my flashlight on them. Once both were separated, I requested additional units and requested both females remain still.”

Officer Salvi reported that one of the women, later identified as Alexandria Ramos, had to be instructed to stay with him after she tried to walk towards the street once she let go of 23-year-old Sofi Tanashian’s shirt.

According to police, Alexandria Ramos, 35, is a resident of 180 Hall Street, Leominster, MA.

“Sofi stated that Alexandria had stolen $20 from her,” Officer Salvi said. “Alexandria stated she had given Sofi ‘stuff’ some time ago and had come to collect the $20 she was owed.”

At this time, Officer Shane Crawford arrived on scene to assist. Officer Salvi directed him to escort Ramos to his cruiser by the street to get her side of the story, while he remained with Tanashian to speak with her.

“Once Alexandria was removed from the immediate area, Sofi stated that she had asked Alexandria to come to her residence to purchase ‘Klonopin’ (A brand name for Clonazepam, a Class C drug as defined by M.g.l [Massachusetts General Law]),” Officer Salvi said. “Alexandria and Sofi had been seated at the bottom of a staircase just inside the residence. Sofi states that she paid Alexandria $20 for ‘Klonopin,’ which Alexandria placed between the two of them on the stairs. Sofi stated that Alexandria, upon receiving the $20, swiped the ‘Klonopin’ from between them and tried to run out the door. Sofi admitted she went after Alexandria to retrieve her money and Alexandria began punching her. It was at this time that both began yelling, and within a minute of the beginning of their yelling, I had responded. Sofi told me that the drugs were green in a plastic pouch. Officer [Shane] Crawford had recovered a thumb-sized, blue baggie with residue of a white sugar-like substance. This was determined to not be what Sofi had tried to buy. The door was still open to said staircase and was less than 15 feet from the area I observed both females grappling. Officers conducted a search of the grass and the doorway for the baggie that Sofi had described and did not locate it. The baggie in question was removed from Alexandria’s person by Officer [Renzo] Vasconcelos and Officer [Mackenson] Adescar at booking. The Clonazepam was packaged in a plastic jewelry bag and was placed in Alexandria’s left bra cup along with the $20 bill. The bag appears to be for jewelry and repurposed to carry the pills. Clonazepam is a prescription drug, Alexandria did not have and could not produce evidence of having a prescription for this drug.”

Officer Salvi added, “It appeared to officers that Alexandria had ripped off Sofi during a prearranged deal and Sofi had confronted Alexandria to retrieve the money. Please note, 45 Pearl Street is a group home, multiple residents as well as the staff members were alerted to the females yelling and the sudden appearance of the officers. I confirmed the identity of the pills using Drugs.com pill identifier.”

Officer Salvi said the blue pouch containing an unknown substance was placed into evidence for identification.

Ramos was charged with the following (Officer Salvi’s rationale is included in quotations):

1. Assault and Battery (“Sofi states she was struck by Alexandria, this officer witnessed unwanted grabbing”)
2. Disorderly Conduct (“both females were observed fighting”)
3. Possession of a Class C Drug (“Clonazepam is a Class C Drug as defined by M.g.l [Massachusetts General Law]”)
4. Possess to Distribute Class C Drug (“attempted sale to Sofi”)
5. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law (“arranged sale of Class C”)

Officer Salvi said Tanashian was also summoned for the following violations of Massachusetts General Law:

1. Disorderly Conduct (“both females were observed fighting”)
2. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law (“attempted purchase of Class C drug”)

Ramos was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Nov. 11, 2024. Following her arraignment, she was released on her own personal recognizance under the condition that she stay away from and not contact Tanashian. Ramos’ next court date was a pretrial conference scheduled for Dec. 19, 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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