BARRE — On Friday, February 7, 2025, at approximately 4:57 p.m., Officer Zachary Warner of the Barre Police Department was on patrol when he was advised by dispatch that a 19-year-old man from Templeton had come to the station to report fraud.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts of Officer Warner and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
When he arrived at the station, Officer Warner met with the man and his mother.
According to Officer Warner, the man said that the night before he and his mother purchased a vehicle from Brandon Pease of 375 Wheelwright Road.
“Brandon Pease is known to live at that residence by the Barre Police Department,” Officer Warner said. “The vehicle was a 2003 Toyota Highlander that [he] purchased for $1,900 dollars.”
According to police, Brandon Pease, 33, is a resident of 33 Prospect Street, Baldwinville, MA.
The man stated that he believed the vehicle’s gauge cluster had been tampered with to alter the mileage, and that the title also appeared to have been tampered with. He further noted an oil change service sticker on the windshield indicating 258,000 miles, with a service date from 2021.
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“At this time, [the man’s mother] provided me with the title,” Officer Warner said. “On the back of the title there appeared to be a water stain on the box the miles are written in. There was also writing with a black permanent marker stating there was 192,430 miles on the vehicle.”
The man’s mother stated that when they attempted to register the vehicle, the Registry of Motor Vehicles denied the title. She said she was able to contact the original owner of the Toyota, a resident of Hudson, New Hampshire. The original owner informed her that he had sold the vehicle on January 23, 2025, with approximately 290,000 miles on it. After she explained the situation, the original owner stated that he would apply for a duplicate copy of the title reflecting the actual mileage.
“[The man’s mother] made multiple attempts to contact Brandon, Brandon answered one time and began to scream at [her] and hung up on her,” Officer Warner said. “[She] provided me with pictures of their conversation and a copy of the title. The copy of the title was entered into property for evidence per department policy and procedure.”
Officer Warner then contacted the original owner of the vehicle, who stated that he sold the Toyota to Tyler [last name redacted] on January 23 for $600. At the time of the sale, the vehicle had approximately 290,000 miles on it. The original owner also stated that the title listed the exact mileage on the back. He added that Tyler mentioned he was coming from Barre.
Officer Warner then contacted Tyler and confirmed that he had an address in Barre.
“I was able to make contact with Tyler, Tyler stated that he did buy the Toyota from [the original owner] and when he bought the Toyota, it had approximately 290,000 miles on it,” Officer Warner said. “I asked Tyler at any time did he change the gauge cluster on the car, Tyler replied ‘no’ I also asked Tyler if he altered the miles on the title, Tyler replied ‘no.’ Tyler stated he sold the vehicle on Facebook Marketplace for $1,000 and advertised that it had 290,000 miles. Tyler stated he sold the Toyota to an Andrew [last name redacted] out of Belchertown Ma.”
Officer Warner found Andrew’s phone number and contacted him.
“Andrew stated that he bought the vehicle from Tyler for $1000,” Officer Warner recounted. “I asked Andrew how many miles where on the Toyota, Andrew replied approximately 290,000 miles. Andrew stated that he did not alter the title or the gauge cluster. Andrew stated he sold the vehicle for $1,400 on Facebook Marketplace to Brandon Pease in Barre and also advertised the vehicle has 290,000 miles on it.”
Officer Warner added, “After talking to all involved parties and all parties stating the same vehicle mileage and clean title condition, I attempted to contact Brandon by going to Brandons residence but was unable to make contact. At this time, I contacted Brandon via phone and left a voice-mail, to which Brandon did not call back.”
Officer Warner noted there was nothing further to report at that time and that any additional information would be added at a later date. Based on the facts and circumstances provided, he believed there was probable cause to charge Pease with the following offenses:
- Forgery of a document
- False pretense in Commercial Transaction +$1,200
A summons was mailed to Pease on March 4, 2025.
Pease was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on March 20, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance. His next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 15, 2025.
Looks like Brandon tried to pull a fast one. Good think the police research uncovered evidence of forgery. Thanks, police; good detective work! And trying to steal money under false pretenses. That’s the problem with buying from a on-line marketplace. You don’t know if someone is ripping you off or not. This Brandon character sounds like a real shifty sleazebag, going to a lot of trouble to steal from unsuspecting people. Hope he gets a big fine and thrown off Facebook. Probably not jail time as his is a non-violent crime. Is there a way to mark someone on Facebook as a thief? Might help out other unsuspecting prospective purchasers. Also if convicted for forgery of a car title, he should be marked as a criminal forger on the MA RMV site. Not allowed to register a vehicle in Massachusetts.
Because you heard this story does that mean it’s true?i was there for this event.complete fabrication.they forgot to mention Brandon called this office multiple times and took over a week for his callback.with a reply I work allot.left multiple voicemail at police and personal phone number.also spoke to multiple police staff.secondly if you think someone changed an odometer if it’s even possible to sell it for more or whatever they are claiming on a cheap car,that’s funny.also there will be dash cam footage when he purchased the car that shows the title was the way it was when purchased,there was no change made.
I didn’t hear that story, nor does it reflect an opinion, it is public information obtained from the police and that’s why there are attributions in the story.
I have met Brandon.complete stranger mind you.i contacted him for an engine I was looking for.he was one of the nicest most helpful person I ever met.I didn’t have all the money for the replacement engine at the time.he delivered it.even helped get it put back in.spent over 10 hours with me until my car ran again.I was so blessed being able to get back and forth to work.in the end he surprised me and charged me in total half of what he wanted for the complete engine.and nothing for all his time and help.he brought over tools.ramps and everything to complete the job.I believe this story is misconstrued.A mark on the title?and If the police station or the new buyer had any common smarts they would see the odometer is original to the car.and was not changed.what a joke .
I talked to the buyer of the car because I live in the same town.when him and his mother were looking at the car he got out left it in drive and almost ran Brandon over,leaving the car in brush close to going down a huge hill.just to give an example of the buyers of the car.spent an hour making sure everything in the car was correct.every light bulb worked.replaced a fuse so every blinker worked.knowing he is a fairly new driver and wanted him to make it home safely.
Did you mention this to the police?