Dudley man arrested after attempted arson and theft of propane heater during Webster break-in

WEBSTER — On Thursday, February 20, 2025, at approximately 7:11 p.m., Officer Spencer Donovan of the Webster Police Department was dispatched to a residence on Deslauriers Avenue following a 911 call from the home owner reporting a break-in.

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

Officer Aaron Suss, Detective Timothy Whiting, Officer Francheska Cedeno, Officer Thomas Motyka, and Officer Nicholas Trinque were dispatched to the scene as well.

“[The 911 caller] reported he was not home but viewed someone breaking into his residence via security cameras,” Officer Donovan said. “[He] was unable to give a description at this time.”

Officer Donovan said he asked dispatch if the break-in was actively taking place, and was informed that it was.

“As I was turning onto Deslauriers Avenue, dispatch advised [the 911 caller] was still monitoring the cameras and reported the male was walking down the street with his heater,” Officer Donovan said. “As I began to pull up Deslauriers Avenue, I observed a male walking on the sidewalk carrying an object. As I continued up the road, the male threw the item to the ground and continued to walk further up Deslauriers Avenue. I exited my cruiser and immediately told the male, who was later identified as Mr. Jeremy Ouellette, to stop.”

According to police, Jeremy M. Ouellette, 43, is a resident of Perryville Road in Dudley.

“Jeremy turned and began to walk towards me in an aggressive manner to the point where I feared he was going to attempt to physically assault me,” Officer Donovan said. “At this point, Jeremy became an assaultive person and I perceived the situation to be hostile. I drew my department issued taser and again told Jeremy to stop, at which point he gave me the middle finger and began to walk away.”

Officer Donovan said he continued to give Jeremy verbal commands to stop, place his hands on his head, and get on his knees.

“He stopped, placed his hands on his head, and began to walk towards me saying something to the effect of ‘f*ck you,’” Officer Donovan said. “I warned Jeremy that I was going to tase him if he did not comply. Jeremy ignored my commands. I utilized profanity in an attempt to gain compliance, which did not have its desired effect. Jeremy again turned from me and began to walk away.”

According to Officer Donovan, at this time, Detective Whiting and Officer Motyka arrived on scene to assist.

“While Jeremy’s back was to me, I moved in, grabbed onto the back of his jacket, and threw him to the ground with the assistance of Detective Whiting and Officer Motyka,” Officer Donovan said. “While on the ground, I continued to warn Jeremy that he could be tased. We were able to place Jeremy in handcuffs. Once stood up, Jeremy continued to yell, swear, and pull away from officers.”

Officer Donovan stated that a search of Ouellette was conducted prior to placing him into the back of a cruiser. Several dollar bills and miscellaneous cards were located in one of his pockets.

“During this incident, there was a pedestrian walking a dog. Due to Jeremy’s aggressive behavior, the female tried to get out of the way. While doing this, she slipped on ice, fell, and lost control of her dog, which ran away from her,” Officer Donovan said. Adding, “Located on the ground where I initially saw Jeremy was a red and black propane heater. On the ground where Jeremy was taken to the ground was a small screwdriver.”

Officer Cedeno photographed the propane heater and screwdriver and secured them in a cruiser. He later transported them to the Webster Police Department, where they were entered into evidence and secured in a locker.

“I spoke with multiple neighbors who were looking out their windows due to the commotion,” Officer Donovan said. “I inquired if they recognized the male, which they did not.”

Officers discovered an open door at the Deslauriers Avenue residence that Ouellette had allegedly broken into.

Officer Donovan stated that officers cleared the residence to ensure no one else was inside. While doing so, they detected an overwhelming odor of natural gas. The Webster Fire Department was subsequently called to the scene.

Officer Donovan then transported Ouellette to the Webster Police Department for booking.

“Throughout the transport, Jeremy continued his belligerent behavior and screamed and yelled at me the entire time,” Officer Donovan said. “When we arrived at the station, Jeremy stated he was going to ‘knock my dick loose’ and ordered me to open the door. After arriving at the station, Jeremy’s demeanor changed and he became cooperative. Jeremy was removed from the cruiser and led into the booking room and advised it was both audio and visually recorded. While removing Jeremy from the cruiser, I observed there to be saliva on the plexiglass divider inside the prisoner compartment. This saliva was not present prior to placing Jeremy into the cruiser. Detective Whiting and Officer Motyka assisted in booking.”

While inventorying Ouellette’s property, Officer Donovan said he discovered multiple credit-style cards, including an Amazon Visa bearing the name of the reporting party and owner of the Deslauriers Avenue residence that had been broken into. Officer Donovan also located an Ikea card, a Charlie Card, and a Tesla key card.

“A check of the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) under [the reporting party’s] name and birth date revealed he currently owns a grey 2022 Tesla Model Y,” Officer Donovan said. Later adding, “While searching Jeremy, Detective Whiting located eight small oblong, white pills. Through my training and experience as a police officer, I immediately recognized them to be prescription pills based on the distinct markings. Utilizing http://www.drugs.com, a trusted website utilized by law enforcement to identify pills, I was able to identify the eight pills as Ondansetron, which is the generic brand Zofran. This medication is used to treat nausea.”

Officer Donovan stated that, because Ouellette did not have a valid prescription bottle, the pills were entered into evidence for destruction.

Officer Donovan added, “Due to Jeremy appearing to agitated by my presence, I left the booking room to de-escalate the situation.”

Officer Donovan then left the Webster Police Station and returned to the Deslauriers Avenue residence that had been broken into. Upon arrival, Officer Donovan spoke with Webster Fire Department Lieutenant Reyes Rodriguez, who informed him that during their investigation of the gas odor, they found all but one of the stove’s gas burners turned on.

“I was also informed there was a door located open which appeared to be tampered with,” Officer Donovan said. “Once inside the residence, I could smell the strong odor of natural gas. I was able to view the door, which did appear to have gauge marks consistent with the screwdriver we located near Jeremy.”

Fire Lieutenant Rodriguez then escorted Officer Donovan to the basement.

“Once in the basement, Lt. Rodriguez brought my attention to the vent of the boiler, which was pulled off the wall,” Officer Donovan said. “It was evident that by the way this was done, it was clearly pulled off the wall by force. Furthermore, there was a film of dust that had built up on the sheet metal of the vent from the conditions of the basement. There were fresh handprints in the dust in the area where the vent appeared to be pulled, indicating that they were recent.”

Officer Donovan stated that, due to the high danger posed by the gas levels in the residence—which could have led to a large explosion—National Grid was called to the scene to evaluate the situation. Officer Donovan added that the residence needed to be ventilated to prevent “any catastrophic event.”

Officer Donovan said he then spoke with Detective Whiting who informed him that he spoke with the reporting party.

“[The reporting party] indicated he had a red heater in the upstairs bedroom of the residence,” Officer Donovan recounted. “He identified the heater Jeremy walked out of the house with as the one in his bedroom. [The reporting party] indicated he would email Detective Whiting the video from the incident. Once this video is available, it will be burned to a disc and entered as evidence.”

Officer Donovan said that while he was at the Deslauriers Avenue residence, Webster EMS was dispatched to the Webster Police Department to evaluate Ouellette for scrapes.

“Jeremy elected to be transported to the hospital. Officer Cedeno and Officer Trinque followed behind,” Officer Donovan recounted. “I overheard dispatch inform units that the ambulance had pulled over and they needed police response. I then overheard Officer Cedeno call over the radio she deployed her taser. All available units responded. Once I arrived on scene, Jeremy was handcuffed to the stretcher.”

Officer Donovan stated that he spoke with Officer Cedeno, who informed him that Jeremy was standing up in the ambulance, which prompted them to pull over.

“Officer Trinque went into the rear of the ambulance to handcuff Jeremy to the bed,” Officer Donovan said. “Officer Cedeno climbed up the ambulance to assist. Jeremy was able to stand up and push Officer Cedeno out of the back of the ambulance causing her to fall approximately 3-4 feet to the ground landing on her knees. Officer Cedeno was able to stand up and deploy her taser. Jeremy was eventually secured to the stretcher in with handcuffs.”

Officer Donovan said that once Ouellette was released from the hospital, he was booked at the Webster Police Department per department policy and secured in a holding cell.

Ouellette was arrested and charged with the following (Officer Donovan’s reasoning for the charges is provided in quotations):

1. Breaking & Entering Nighttime for Felony:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did in the night time break and enter a building, the property of [name redacted], with intent to commit a felony therein (larceny from building),” Officer Donovan said.
2. Vandalize Property:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did intentionally, willfully and maliciously, paint, mark, scratch, etch or otherwise mark, injure, mar, deface or destroy the real or personal property (door/vent) of [the reporting party],” Officer Donovan said.
3. Vandalize Property:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did intentionally, willfully, and maliciously, paint, mark, scratch, etch or otherwise mark, injure, mar, deface or destroy the real or personal property (spit in police cruiser) of the Town of Webster,” Officer Donovan said.
4. Larceny from Building:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did steal the property of [the reporting party],” Officer Donovan said.
5. Attempted Arson of Dwelling House:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did turn on gas stove burners and intentionally break the boiler vent of a house that was unoccupied and left, and thereby did willfully and maliciously attempt to set fire to or burn a dwelling house located at [address redacted] in Webster,” Officer Donovan said.
6. Disorderly Conduct:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette was a disorderly person, in that he did recklessly create a risk thereof, engage in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior, and did create a hazardous or physically offensive condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose of the defendant,” Officer Donovan said.
7. Disturbing the Peace:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did disturb the peace of this Commonwealth in that he did commit an act or acts that were of such nature as tend to annoy all good citizens, and did in fact annoy someone present and not favoring such act or acts,” Officer Donovan said.
8. Possess Burglarious Instrument:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did knowingly have possession of a tool or implement adapted and designed for cutting through, forcing, or breaking open a building, room, vault, safe, or other depository, in order to steal therefrom money or other property, or to commit some other crime, knowing the same to be adapted and designed for such purpose, with intent to use or employ or allow the same to be used or employed for such purpose,” Officer Donovan said.
9. Assault & Battery on Police Officer:
   • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did assault and beat  Francheska Cedeno, a police officer who was then engaged in the performance of her duties,” Officer Donovan said.
10. Resist Arrest:
    • “On February 20, 2025, Mr. Jeremy Ouellette did knowingly prevent or attempt to prevent a police officer, as defined in M.G.L. c. 268, §32B(c), who was acting under color of his or her official authority, from effecting an arrest, by using or threatening to use physical force or violence against the police officer or another,” Officer Donovan said.

Ouellette was arraigned in Dudley District Court on February 21,2025. During his arraignment, Judge Michael Welsh allowed the Commonwealth’s motion for pre-trial detention pending a dangerousness hearing.

A dangerousness hearing was held on February 25, 2025, during which Ouellette was found to be dangerous and ordered held without bail for 120 days.

On March 24, 2025, Ouellette attended a pretrial conference, which was continued to April 18, 2025.

Ouellette’s next court date is scheduled for June 25, 2025, when he is scheduled to appear for an in-person status review on the 120th day of his pretrial detention, which was ordered following a finding of dangerousness.

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