Lunenburg man arrested for trespassing at Leominster bar after refusing to leave

LEOMINSTER — On Thursday, December 12, 2024, Officer Patrick Foley of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to Columbia Tavern, located at 16R Central Street, following a report of an unwanted guest.

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

“Upon arrival, I spoke with the male party in question,” Officer Foley said. “The male party was later identified as Mark Wiitala. I initially asked Mark what was going on. He stated, ‘My best friend the 16^th.’ He repeated this a few times and was not able to elaborate. Mark was very unsteady on his feet with heavily slurred speech. I asked Mark if he had a Massachusetts ID on him and he stated yes. Mark then proceeded to hand me his empty wallet. I explained to him that his ID was not in there and he stated that he was unsure where it went. I then had Mark remain with Sergeant [Elvin] Vasquez and Officer [Phillip] Allain while I went to speak with the reporting party.”

According to police, Mark Wiitala, 43, is a resident of 411 Mulpus Road, Lunenburg, MA.

“The reporting party, Christian [last name redacted], stated that he has had issues with Mark in the past and has had to ask him to leave,” Officer Foley recounted. “He stated that when Mark arrived, he was in the process of closing down the bar, and he refused to leave and just stood there in the doorway.”

Officer Foley asked Christian if he would like Wiitala trespassed from the property. Wiitala responded saying he would like him trespassed for good.

“I then escorted Christian outside to where Mark was and in my presence, he was trespassed from the property indefinitely. Christian then went back inside,” Officer Foley said.

“I then went and spoke to Mark once more and asked him if he had a plan,” Officer Foley said. “Mark then lifted his hand from his pocket and I could see his Massachusetts ID. I then asked him to hand it to me and he said that he did not have it. I then asked him again and he gave it to me. I then asked Mark if he would like to find his own ride home, he said yes.”

Officer Foley stated that Mark made no attempt to call for a ride or ask the police to contact someone on his behalf to arrange for a ride home.

“I advised him that he had been trespassed from the property and if he did not leave, he would be arrested,” Officer Foley said. “I then gave Mark another chance to leave on his own terms. Mark still would not leave or make any attempt to arrange for a ride. At this time, I informed Mark that he would be placed under arrest for trespassing. I then asked him to turn around and place his hands behind his back. He was placed in handcuffs. They were checked for tightness and then double locked.”

After he was handcuffed, Wiitala was escorted to a cruiser where he was pat frisked. He was then placed into the cruiser and transported to the Leominster Police Station for booking.

“Due to Mark’s level of intoxication at the time of my interaction with him, I made the decision to place him in protective custody,” Officer Foley said. “Mark was unsteady on his feet, slurred his speech, and could not care for himself.”

Wiitala was charged with the following:

1. Trespassing

Wiitala was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Dec. 12, 2024. During his arraignment, he pled guilty to the trespassing charge and was ordered to stay away from Columbia Tavern in Leominster.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from December 2024, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

To learn more about News Link Live’s unique business model, please read the following:

An online business model that could replace local newspapers

The Medium is the Message by Marshall McCLuhan

The Ego and the ID by Sigmund Freud