WINCHENDON — On Thursday, January 16, 2025, at approximately 11:13 a.m., Winchendon Police Detective Caleb Similia conducted a traffic stop on a gray Honda Accord with Massachusetts plates on Metcalf Street after an RMV check revealed the registered owner’s license had expired in 2020. Officer Justin Smith, who was nearby, responded to assist.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Justin Smith and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Just after I got within eyesight, Det. Similia said the Honda was fleeing from him,” Officer Smith said. “I saw the Honda accelerate away from Det. Similia’s vehicle. I activated my cruiser’s blue lights and sirens and pulled behind the Honda which stopped shortly after.”
Officer Smith said he could see two people in the Honda as he exited his cruiser.
“Det. Similia approached the driver’s door while I approached the front passenger’s door,” Officer Smith said. “Looking into the Honda, I identified the front passenger as Jovanha Pelto, whom I was aware is a known drug user to this department, actively smoking from a glass pipe.”
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According to police, Jovanha L. Pelto, 28, is a resident of 16 S. Royalston Road in Winchendon.
“The pipe had a burnt tannish-brown residue, and there were butane torches on the floorboard near her feet,” Officer Smith said. “From my training and experience, the residue was consistent with crack cocaine, and glass pipes are commonly used for the smoking of illicit substances such as crack cocaine. I was aware Jovanha had at least four active warrants out for her arrest.”
Officer Smith ordered Pelto to get out of the vehicle.
“I was able to get Jovanha out of the car and handcuffed without incident,” Officer Smith said. “I searched Jovanha and found a small oval-shaped object in her front sweatshirt pocket. I pulled out the object and Jovanha said it was Hydroxyzine which she said she was prescribed. Jovanha had a purse slung around her which I searched incident to her arrest for weapons and contraband. Within the purse was a hard, circular glass jar which contained a fine white residue as well as a plastic ‘corner baggie’ consistent with street-level narcotics packaging from my training and experience. Within the corner baggie was a fine white substance consistent with cocaine, which Jovanha said was just baking soda. Dispatch confirmed the warrants for Jovanha were still active. I told Jovanha she was under arrest.”
Officer Smith said that due to the presence of drug paraphernalia in the car, it was searched.
“The search revealed another purse which was in Jovanha’s control which had a prescription bottle for Hydroxyzine with her name on it,” Officer Smith said. “Within the prescription bottle were several different pills: Gabapentin, Prazosin, Buspirone Hydrochloride, Topiramate, Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride (which matched the pill in her sweatshirt pocket), and Naproxen Sodium.”
Officer Smith transported Pelto to the Winchendon Police Station where she was booked, searched by the department matron, and her property inventoried.
“The pipe Jovanha was actively smoking from tested positive during a field test for crack cocaine, therefore she was charged with Possession of a Class B Substance,” Officer Smith said. Adding, “Jovanha was also charged with Possession of a Class E Substance for the various pills found in her pill bottle which was not labeled for them.”
Pelto was secured in Cell #1 and her bail was set at $1000, she was then transported to Winchendon District Court for her arraignment.
During her arraignment, the Commonwealth filed a motion to revoke Pelto’s bail, which was allowed. She was ordered to be held for 30 days. Her next court date was a pretrial hearing scheduled for February 26, 2025 over Zoom.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from January, 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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