LEOMINSTER — On Thursday, October 10, 2024, Officer Johangel Lorenzo of the Leominster Police Department was patrolling the downtown area, conducting random inquiries of motor vehicles via the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database, when he observed a gray Volkswagen Jetta operating on Merriam Avenue with its registration status revoked for insurance.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Lorenzo and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Please note that when I ran the license plate number through CJIS, the vehicle abruptly turned and attempted to escape,” Officer Lorenzo said. “The car headed inbound on Merriam Avenue, took a sharp right turn onto Church Street, and then another right turn onto West Street. I managed to catch up to the vehicle in front of the City Hall building at 25 West Street. I activated my blue lights and sirens and conducted a traffic stop there.”
Officer Lorenzo reported that upon approaching the vehicle, he noticed a male driver and a female passenger in the front, with two children in the back—a 10-year-old and an apparent 3-year-old not secured in a car seat.
“I informed the driver that the vehicle’s registration had been revoked due to lack of insurance,” Officer Lorenzo said. “I then identified the driver as Rafael Gavin, who provided me with only a permit. I asked the female passenger for her identification, identifying her as Gleica [middle and last name redacted].”
According to police, Rafael S. Gavin, 22, is a resident of 105 Reed Avenue, Everett, MA.
“When I asked Rafael why the vehicle was being operated without an active registration, he explained that the car did not belong to him but was driving it until he acquired his own vehicle,” Officer Lorenzo said. “After running both license numbers through dispatch, I learned that Rafael’s license was suspended. This led me to investigate his driving history, which revealed multiple citations for driving without a license. Shortly after, Officer [Renzo] Vasconcelos arrived to assist me with the motor vehicle stop.”
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Officer Lorenzo then requested that Gavin step out of the vehicle to speak with him privately, away from the children.
“I inquired why he was driving with a suspended license, to which he replied that he had no real reason to drive,” Officer Lorenzo said. “I informed him that his driving history indicated multiple unlicensed charges and allowed him to explain his need to drive, but he did not provide an answer. With Officer Vasconcelos’ assistance, Rafael was placed under arrest and handcuffed, and ensured that the handcuffs were secure and double-locked. We then conducted a search incident to arrest before putting him in the cruiser.”
Officer Lorenzo then explained the situation to Gavin’s passenger, Gleica, who is his girlfriend.
“She spoke no English, her younger brother translated for us,” Officer Lorenzo said. “I also asked her why the 3-year-old child was not in a car seat. They explained that the car seat did not fit in the vehicle, so they drove without one. She was advised that the child cannot be in a motor vehicle without a car seat. Shortly afterward, Gleica’s parents arrived to pick them up, to get them home safely.”
Officer Lorenzo requested a police tow from dispatch because the vehicle was uninsured and parked on a public way.
Before the tow truck arrived, Officer Lorenzo performed an inventory of the car. Shortly afterward, Cote’s Towing arrived on scene and remove the vehicle.
Gavin was charged with the following:
- Operating Motor Vehicle with License Suspended
- Uninsured Motor Vehicle
- Child Under 8 Years & Under 58 Inches Without Car Seat
- Unregistered Motor Vehicle
Gavin was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Nov. 12, 2024. Following his arraignment, Gavin was released on his own personal recognizance. His next court date was a pretrial conference scheduled for Dec. 20, 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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