Athol man arrested after pointing gun at son during dispute sparked by texts about ex-wife

ATHOL — On Saturday, November 23, 2024, at approximately 4:44 p.m., Athol Police Officers Zachary Duguay and Paul Forand responded to a residence on Everett Avenue following a report of a domestic disturbance involving a father and son. The 911 call was made by the 31-year-old son.

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

“Matthew reported there was a domestic disturbance involving himself and his father, Bernard Lubao,” Officer Duguay said. “Matthew stated ‘help me he has a gun.’ While on the phone, Athol Dispatch could hear a male party in the background yelling ‘he is trying to kill me.’”

According to police, Bernard Lubao, 57, is a resident of 63 Everett Avenue, Athol, MA.

At 4:46 p.m., roughly two minutes after the 911 call, Officers Duguay and Forand, along with Sergeant Randal Stange, arrived at the scene, where they encountered Matthew who was standing outside the residence.

“Officer Forand ordered Matthew to walk toward him with his hands up,” Officer Duguay said. “Matthew complied with the order given.”

Once Matthew approached Officer Forand’s cruiser, Officer Duguay reported that Officer Forand conducted a search of Matthew and then placed him in the back seat of the cruiser. As this transpired, Matthew told Officer Forand that Bernard was still inside the residence with a firearm.

“Athol Dispatch advised officers on scene that they were still on the phone with Bernard,” Officer Duguay said. Adding, “Athol Dispatch advised officers that Bernard stated his son was threatening to assault him, placing him in fear. Bernard stated he had a .45 caliber handgun. Athol Dispatch asked Bernard if he could put the firearm down inside of the residence and come out to speak with officers with his hands up. Bernard stated he placed the firearm on the bedside cabinet in his bedroom and would come speak with officers.”

Officer Forand then saw a man approaching the front door from inside the house.

“Officer Forand asked if the male party’s name was ‘Bernard,’ to which he stated it was,” Officer Duguay said. “Officer Forand ordered Bernard to raise his hands above his head and exit the residence. After Bernard exited the residence, Officer Forand ordered Bernard to grab the collar of his shirt and lift it above his head. Bernard complied will all of Officer Forand’s orders.”

After confirming that Bernard was unarmed, Officer Forand directed him to raise his hands above his head once more and then told him not to move.

Officer Duguay, Officer Forand, and Sgt. Stange then approached Bernard.

“Sergeant Stange placed handcuffs on Bernard and advised him that he was being detained,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard did not resist during the process. Sergeant Stange read Bernard his Miranda rights, to which Bernard stated he acknowledged and understood.”

Officer Forand then asked Bernard where the firearm was inside the residence.

“Bernard stated he placed it on the bedside cabinet in his bedroom,” Officer Duguay said. “Officer Duguay and Officer Forand then entered the residence to locate and secure the firearm. Sergeant Stange stood with Bernard outside of the residence. Officer Forand located the firearm in Bernard’s bedroom on the second floor of the residence. The firearm was on top of the bedside cabinet. Officer Forand seized the firearm, a Ruper .38 caliber revolver handgun that was loaded with five rounds in all five chambers in the gun’s cylinder.”

Officer Duguay located another male party in a separate upstairs bedroom. Officer Duguay spoke with the man, who said he was Bernard’s brother and lived at the residence with Bernard.

“[Bernard’s brother] stated that he heard Bernard and Matthew begin arguing and did not intervene,” Officer Duguay said. “[Bernard’s brother] stated as he heard the argument intensify, he remained in his bedroom because he did not want to get shot. After speaking with [Bernard’s brother], I cleared from [his] bedroom.”

Officer Forand and Officer Duguay then exited the residence.

Officer Duguay said that Officer Forand secured the firearm and five rounds of ammunition in the front passenger seat of his cruiser, while the other responding officers continued their investigation.

“At this point in time, a trooper from Massachusetts State Police had arrived on scene to assist,” Officer Duguay added.

Officer Duguay then spoke with Matthew, who was still in the rear seat of Officer Forand’s cruiser. Officer Duguay asked Matthew what happened.

“Matthew stated that his children were at the residence earlier, accompanied by Matthew’s step-mother,” Officer Duguay recounted. “Matthew stated that after a short period of time, Matthew’s step-mother and his children left the residence.”

Matthew told Officer Duguay that his step-mother and children were not present the incident.

“Matthew further stated he was upstairs in Bernard’s bedroom, the room he had been staying in, when he began receiving text messages from Bernard,” Officer Duguay said. “Matthew stated the text messages from Bernard pertained to Matthew’s ex-wife, causing Matthew to grow upset.”

Matthew stated that he then went downstairs to the living room where Bernard was seated.

“Matthew stated he and Bernard then got involved in a verbal altercation regarding the text messages,” Officer Duguay said. “Matthew stated that after the verbal argument downstairs, he went back upstairs to Bernard’s bedroom to get away from Bernard. Matthew stated he was playing on his X-Box gaming station when Bernard went upstairs into Bernard’s bedroom. Matthew stated Bernard then retrieved a firearm from the clothing dresser and pointed it at him. Matthew stated he then called 911. Matthew stated that he was near the bedroom windows, as far back in the room away from Bernard as possible when he called 911.”

Officer Duguay asked Matthew if this had happened before.

“Matthew stated this had never happened before,” Officer Duguay said. “Matthew stated he and his father had been in plenty of verbal arguments in the past, but no argument had ever reached the point of becoming physical. Matthew stated that his father had consumed alcohol throughout the day that he believed to be in the form of a vodka and soda mixture. Matthew stated he believed this to be true because he knew that his father drank alcohol almost every day, with his drink of choice being a vodka and soda mixture.”

After speaking with Matthew, Officer Duguay spoke with Bernard, who had been moved inside the residence by police due to the cold weather. Officer Duguay asked Bernard if he remembered and understood the Miranda rights read to him by Sgt. Stange.

“Bernard stated he did and did not need them read to him again,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay then asked Bernard what happened.

“Bernard stated his ex-wife (Matthew’s step-mother) was at the residence earlier with Matthew’s children,” Officer Duguay said.

Bernard said that after his ex-wife and Matthew’s children left the residence, he and Matthew began arguing over text message.

“Bernard stated that Matthew instigated the argument through the text messages,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard stated that after texting for some time, Matthew came downstairs from the second floor of the residence and began verbally arguing with him over the text messages in the living room, where Bernard had been sleeping.”

Bernard said that while he was arguing with Matthew in the living room, Matthew became irate, and flipped the living room table over, which damaged the table.  When the two stopped arguing in the living room, Bernard said Matthew went back upstairs to his bedroom.

“Bernard stated after Matthew went upstairs, Bernard went upstairs as well and continued arguing with Matthew,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard stated he entered the bedroom and, during the argument, noticed that Matthew had stood up and felt as though Matthew was going to turn the verbal altercation into a physical altercation. Bernard stated that he then accessed the top drawer of his clothing dresser and retrieved a firearm to defend himself as he was now backed into the corner of the bedroom. Bernard stated Matthew began to call 911.”

Bernard said that since Matthew was already calling 911, he felt it unnecessary to make the call himself.

“Bernard stated that during Matthew’s 911 call, Bernard was yelling to the dispatcher that he was backed into the corner of the bedroom and needed help,” Officer Duguay said.

Bernard said that when police arrived at his house, Matthew exited the residence and Bernard spoke with Athol Dispatch over the phone.

“Bernard stated he did what Athol Dispatch requested, which was putting the firearm down on the bedside cabinet, and exiting the residence with his hands up and visible,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay asked Bernard why he went upstairs to continue arguing with Matthew in the bedroom after it seemed as though the argument in the living room had ended.  

“Bernard stated that he was ‘pissed off’ that Matthew had damaged his property in the living room, so he went upstairs to tell Matthew to grab his belongings and get out of the house,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay then asked Bernard if he entered the bedroom to speak with Matthew.

“Bernard stated that he did enter the bedroom,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay asked Bernard where the clothing dresser was located in the bedroom.

“Bernard stated it was to the right of the entry door, between the entry door and the closet,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay inquired whether Bernard made any attempt to leave the bedroom after he had retrieved the firearm from the top drawer of the dresser and pointed it at Matthew.

“Bernard stated he did not attempt to exit the room and that he was backed into the corner of the bedroom into the closet area,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard stated Matthew was exclaiming to Athol Dispatch over 911 that he was trapped in the bedroom, to which Bernard further stated to [me] that Matthew was not backed into a corner.”

Officer Duguay asked Bernard where Matthew was located in the bedroom while he had the firearm pointed at Matthew.

“Bernard stated Matthew was in the back of the bedroom, near the window area of the bedroom,” Officer Duguay said.

After speaking with Bernard, Officer Duguay and Sgt. Stange went outside the residence. Once they were outside the residence, Sgt. Stange told Officer Duguay that Bernard told him that he had been drinking vodka during the incident.

In his report, Officer Duguay stated that based on the statements made by Bernard and Matthew, he had probable cause to arrest Bernard for assault with a dangerous weapon.

Officer Duguay then entered the residence again and advised Bernard that he was now under arrest for assault with a dangerous weapon. Officer Duguay retrieved Bernard’s wallet and cell phone from the residence to be placed in Bernard’s property at the Athol Police Station. Officer Duguay escorted Bernard out of the residence to his cruiser, where he conducted a search of Bernard.

Officer Duguay then placed Bernard in the rear of the cruiser and transported him to the Athol Police Station for booking.

“Once at the Athol Police Station, Bernard was searched again and I removed the handcuffs from Bernard’s wrists,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard was booked accordingly without incident.”

During the booking process, Officer Duguay advised Bernard that he was also being charged with improper storage of a firearm.

Officer Duguay asked Bernard if he would be willing to consent to a portable breath test to help determine Bernard’s blood alcohol concentration.

“Bernard consented to this and Bernard’s blood alcohol concentration was determined to be 0.081%,” Officer Duguay said. “Bernard was advised that the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon was domestic in nature, therefore making it a minimum of a six-hour holding period before he was eligible for release. After this, Bernard was placed in cell 2.”

Bernard’s bail was set at $500 cash.

“Bernard was provided a phone call to his ex-wife to make arrangements for bail. Bernard was able to secure bail,” Officer Duguay said. Adding, “Officer Forand entered the firearm used in the incident and the five rounds of ammunition into evidence.”

Officer Duguay seized Bernard’s License to Carry and advised Bernard that his License to Carry was now suspended.

At approximately 11:27 p.m. Bernard was released on bail.

Bernard was charged with the following (Officer Duguay’s reasoning for the charges is provided in quotations):

1. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon “for committing an assault by threatening battery on Matthew with the intent to cause fear while using a dangerous weapon (firearm).
2. Improper Storage of a Firearm “for storing his Ruger LCR .38 Special firearm in the top drawer of his unlocked, unsecured clothing dresser that any persons in the household could access.”

Bernard was arraigned in Orange District Court on Nov. 25, 2024. Following his arraignment, he was released under the condition that he stay away from/not contact Matthew and not possess any firearms or dangerous weapons.

Bernard’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2025.

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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