Man armed with knife arrested in Athol after breaking into garage and fleeing from police

ATHOL — On Thursday, December 5, 2024, at approximately 6:23 p.m., Detective Corey Chauvette of the Athol Police Department was dispatched to the area of Perry Road and Daniel Shays Highway following a 911 call to Athol dispatch reporting a “suspicious male carrying a large knife” in the vicinity.

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

The 911 caller informed dispatch that the man, named “Xavier,” was wearing dark clothing. She added that she knew him and did not want him at her residence on Perry Road.

Det. Chauvette, Sergeant Randal Stange, along with Officers Ben Kovaceivic, Christopher Basciglia, and Evangeline Cakounces of the Orange Police Department, responded to the area but were unable to locate the individual.

“At approximately 7:17 p.m., the Athol Dispatch Center received an emergency 911 call from a female party identified as Tana [last name redacted] from 26 Perry Road in Athol,” Det. Chauvette said. Tana reported that her garage door had just opened and someone was shining a flashlight into her window.

“A short time later a female party identified as Lynn [last name redacted] showed up at 26 Perry Road and observed the male party inside of the garage and advised dispatch that she scared him away,” Det. Chauvette said.

Sergeant Stange, along with Orange Police Officers Kovaceivic, Basciglia, and Cakounces, arrived at the scene but were once again unable to locate the individual, according to Det. Chauvette.

“Approximately ten minutes later, I was searching the area of Daniel Shays Highway near the Orange Legion when I observed a male party wearing dark clothing walking in the snow just outside of the woodline,” Det. Chauvette said. Later adding, “I immediately turned the cruiser around and began driving towards the individual who was wearing a hood.”

Detective Chauvette parked near the location where he saw the suspect, activated the white scene lights on his cruiser, and stepped out of the vehicle.

“I activated my body worn camera and addressed the individual who matched the description provided by both reporting parties,” Det. Chauvette said. “I advised the individual to show me his hands at which point the individual turned around and began running towards the woods. I radioed to dispatch that the party was running and began chasing the individual yelling at him to stop several times. The individual ran in the yard of 68 Daniel Shays Highway in the Town of Orange. As the individual was running through the snow, he tripped and fell to the ground. It should be noted I advised dispatch of the foot chase and immediately identified the individual as Xavier DeLeon. At the time of this incident, I was aware that Mr. DeLeon had an active warrant for his arrest.”

According to police, Xavier A. DeLeon, 31, is a resident of 60 Perry Road, Orange, MA.

“While chasing after Mr. DeLeon, I announced myself as a police officer,” Det. Chauvette said. “Mr. DeLeon fell to the ground a short distance later. Due to the fact that the first reporting party stated he was armed with a large knife I drew my department issued taser, activate it by placing both laser on the individual and ordered him to show me his hands on several occasions. I issued Mr. DeLeon several warnings that he was going to be tased if he did not comply.”

Det. Chauvette said that while DeLeon was lying face down in the prone position, he refused to show him one of his hands for several seconds.

“Sergeant Stange arrived on scene and placed Mr. DeLeon in handcuffs,” Det. Chauvette said. “A glass crack pipe was laying in the snow directly in front of Mr. DeLeon.”

Athol Police Officer Cody Vitols and Orange Police Officers Chris Basciglia, Kovaceivic, and Cakounes arrived at the scene to provide assistance.

“Officer Kyle Johnson and his K9 partner were contacted and responded to the scene to assist with an article search,” Det. Chauvette said. “Once in custody, and without being questioned, Mr. DeLeon advised Officer Basciglia that ‘he doesn’t care and he has drugs on him.’ Once Mr. DeLeon stood up, Officer Vitols located an open multi-tool with the knife blade exposed underneath Mr. DeLeon. Sergeant Stange advised Mr. DeLeon of his Miranda rights, which he stated he understood, and admitted that he was on Perry Road and was being held captive. I went over to Mr, DeLeon and stated ‘Sergeant Stange advised you of your Miranda rights, correct?’ Mr. DeLeon responded ‘yes’ and stated he wanted to answer questions. I asked Mr. DeLeon if he was being held hostage on Perry Road and he stated, ‘yeah.’ I asked Mr. DeLeon if he was inside the garage and he stated ‘yes.’ Mr. DeLeon overheard other officers talking about a lady at which point Mr. DeLeon responded ‘Oh yeah, the old lady.’ I again asked Mr. DeLeon if he was physically inside the garage which he stated, ‘yes.’ I advised Mr. DeLeon that he was under arrest for breaking and entering as well as his warrant.”

Prior to being placed in the back of a cruiser, DeLeon was search for weapons and contraband.

“Sergeant Stange observed what appeared to be a pill bottle in his right pant leg,” Det. Chauvette said. “The bottle was removed by Officer Vitold and I observed several wax baggies individually wrapped in a rubber band. Based on my training and experience as a narcotics detective, I am aware that packaging is used to package heroin. Several of the baggies still contained an off-white powder substance which was seized and tagged into evidence for testing at the State Police Crime Lab.”

While Det. Chauvette transported DeLeon to the Athol Police Station for booking, Sgt. Stange went to 26 Perry Road to speak with the victim.

“A large knife with a pink handle was located at 28 Perry Road by Sergeant Stange,” Det. Chauvette added. Later adding, “During the booking process, I activated my body worn camera and placed Mr. DeLeon through a routine booking procedure. During the booking procedure, I again reminded Mr. DeLeon that he was advised of his Miranda rights while on scene by Sergeant Stange, which he agreed. Mr. DeLeon admitted that he broke into the residence knowing that someone was inside and was armed with a knife for his protection. Based on this statement, an additional charge of aggravated burglary was added due to the fact that he armed himself with a dangerous weapon before going into the dwelling and assaulting the victim by placing her in extreme fear of her own physical safety to the point she contacted the police for help.”

In addition to the warrant for his arrest from July, 29, 2024, for failing to appear in recognizance in Holyoke District Court for a charge of threat to commit a crime, DeLeon was charged with:

1. Breaking & Entering Nighttime for Felony
2. Possess Class A Drug [heroin] Subsequent Offense
3. Armed Burglary

According to Sergeant Stange, upon returning to 26 Perry Road, he spoke with Tara and Lynn, both of whom had encountered DeLeon when he broke into the garage of the residence.

“Ms. Tana [last name redacted] states that she heard noises coming from the back of the house,” Sgt. Stange said. “She went to the back door and saw the male party standing on the back porch. When he saw her, he ran towards the driveway. Ms. Tana [last name redacted] said that she went to the side door and saw him walking out of her driveway. A short time later, Ms. Tana [last name redacted] heard her garage door being opened. The door was not powered and had to be lifted by hand. She could see light from a flashlight being used in the garage. Mr. Lynn [last name redacted] then arrived and scared the male party out of the garage.”

Sgt. Stange said that he followed the foot prints that were visible in the fresh snow outside of the residence on 26 Perry Road.

“Ms. Tana [last name redacted] had called her nephew earlier and asked if he had been walking out back while shoveling. He said that he had not,” Sgt. Stange said. “Foot prints led along the right side of the house to a rear glass sliding door. Outside of the door, on top of the fresh snow, was a large, pink handled knife. The tracks then led directly up some stairs to the back porch where Ms. Tana [last name redacted] first observed the male party. There were no other tracks in the snow.”

DeLeon’s bail was set at $7,500.

DeLeon was arraigned in Orange District Court on December 9, 2024. During the hearing, Judge Laurie MacLeod approved the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke his bail for failing to comply with pretrial release conditions. She ordered DeLeon to remain in jail until March 7, 2025.

DeLeon’s next court date is a detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 24, 2025.

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