Leominster man with knife intimidates CVS employee into making purchases, is permanently trespassed two months later

LEOMINSTER — On Monday, October 7, 2024, at approximately 9:09 p.m., Officer Shane Crawford of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to the CVS located at 9 Nelson Street, following a report of a past “Specified Unlawful Activity” (SUA).

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

When he arrived on scene, Officer Crawford met with Audric [last name redacted] and his father, Arthur [last name redacted], who are both shift managers at the Nelson Street CVS.

Audric told Officer Crawford that earlier that day, he was taking his thirty-minute lunch break in the parking lot of the business when a man approached him and began speaking with him.

According to Officer Crawford, Audric stated that the man began complimenting his jacket and asking him to give it to him, while also mentioning that he was homeless.

He further stated that the man declared, “I’m going to go into the store and steal whatever I want, and you’re not going to stop me.”

During this exchange, Audric observed the man’s hand hovering over a knife tucked into the waistband of his pants.

“I asked Audric if this male ever brandished the knife, or held it, to which he stated that he did not,” Officer Crawford said. “Audric just stated that this male made him feel extremely uncomfortable.”

Audric said he then returned to the store, and the man followed him inside.

“Audric stated that he hid behind the counter for a few minutes before going to a register,” Officer Crawford said. “Audric stated that this male then approached his register and placed items down. A female employee was present who attempted to help Audric by telling this male that she would assist him, however, he still went to Audric’s register. Audric stated that he then paid for the items because he did not want any problems with this male.”

After speaking with Audric, Officer Crawford met with Arthur, who pulled up a surveillance photo of the suspect from the Nelson Street CVS’s surveillance system.

“I immediately identified him to be Mr. Andrew Berg through numerous police interactions,” Officer Crawford said.

According to police, Andrew W. Berg, 64, is homeless in Leominster.

“Arthur stated that if this male came back to the store, he would like to trespass him from the property. I informed Arthur to contact police if that happened,” Officer Crawford said, noting that the incident was still under investigation.

On Thursday, October 17, 2024, at approximately 6:22 p.m., Officer Shane Crawford contacted Audric and Arthur on a recorded line to follow up on the incident.

“Please note that there were three telephone conversations that took place,” Officer Crawford said. “I asked Audric if he had his CVS uniform on while this incident occurred, to which he stated that he did not, however, it was covered up by his jacket. Audric did state that his CVS badge that was on a lanyard on his hip was visible. I then asked Audric some questions regarding what was said about the jacket he was wearing. Audric said that Mr. Berg stated to him, ‘You’re gonna give me that jacket.’ Audric’s reply to Mr. Berg was ‘No, I’m not.’ I asked Audric how far away from him Mr. Berg was when he said this to him to which he replied that he was approximately ‘four inches from his face.’ I asked Audric if he was in fear from Mr. Berg’s actions to which he replied that he was in fear that he was ‘going to be stabbed.’ I then asked when Mr. Berg placed the items on the counter if he felt compelled out of fear to buy him these items, to which he replied that he did. I asked Arthur how much these items were that he bought for Mr. Berg out of fearful compulsion to which he stated ‘$11.28.’”

Officer Crawford asked Audric to describe the knife Berg had on him, and Audric described it as a boxcutter clipped to his pants with a button that extends the blade.

“Please note that Mr. Berg is currently homeless with no fixed address, which makes it very difficult to serve him with a summons,” Officer Crawford said. “Given this information, I request that a warrant be issued for the charge of: Extortion by threat of injury.”

Berg was arraigned by Judge Mark Noonan in Leominster District Court on Nov. 11, 2024.

Following his arraignment, Berg was released on his own personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from/not contact Audric and the Nelson Street CVS.

On Thursday, December 12, 2025, at about 6:33 p.m., Officer Renzo Vasconcelos of the Leominster Police Department was conducting routine patrol in the area of N Main Street and Nelson Street when he observed Berg walking in the Nelson Street CVS’s parking lot.

“Please note, I was previously advised that Andrew had an active warrant earlier in the day,” Officer Vasconcelos said. Later adding, “At this time, I turned my cruiser around and pulled into the CVS parking lot. Once I did, Andrew started walking across the street to the McDonald’s located at 302 N Main Street. I then drove into the McDonald’s parking lot and radioed dispatch and asked to confirm Andrew’s warrant. Dispatch advised me Andrew has an active warrant. I told Andrew he has a warrant and he said he already took care of it. I then advised Andrew that he has another warrant that was not taken care of.”

At around this time, Officer Crawford arrived on scene after he heard Officer Vasconcelos broadcast that he had located Berg in the area of McDonald’s on North Main Street.

“I had prior knowledge that Mr. Berg possessed a warrant for his arrest, as I had attempted to locate him earlier in the shift,” Officer Crawford explained. “I responded to the area and Mr. Berg was subsequently taken into custody without incident for the warrant. While back at the station, Officer Vasconcelos informed me that when he had initially seen Mr. Berg, he was walking through the parking lot of CVS located at 9 Nelson Street. Please note that I was the responding officer yesterday when Mr. Berg was trespassed from this location indefinitely by CVS management. In light of the facts and circumstances above, Mr. Berg is being additionally charged with: trespass.”

A warrant for Berg’s arrest was issued on Dec. 12, 2024. On Dec. 13, 2024, Judge Noonan recalled the warrant. On Dec. 19, 2024, Berg attended a pretrial hearing in Leominster District Court. His next scheduled court appearance is on Jan. 30, 2025.

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.

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