Leominster man arrested after he was caught on surveillance stealing copper wire and $400 cash from plastic recycling company

LEOMINSTER — On Saturday, April 26, 2025, at approximately 9:57 a.m., Officers Zachary Kinahan and Avery Benvissuto of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to CFG Industries, a family-owned plastics recycling company, located at 243 Whitney Street, following a report of a past breaking and entering.

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

“On arrival, we requested dispatch to have the reporting party come outside and speak with us. We met with [name redacted], the owner’s son,” Officer Kinahan said. “He came outside and told us he saw, on video surveillance, a white male walking inside the building’s office area at approximately 2:45 a.m. The male in the footage did not have anything on his person until approximately 2:55 a.m. when you see him with copper wire draped over his shoulder and a bag of unidentified items walking out of the office.”

The business owner’s son told Officer Kinahan that an employee reported $400 missing from a piggy bank kept in his unsecured locker in the office.

Officer Kinahan reported that the business owner’s son suspected the individual likely entered through the back door, as the lock on that door does not work. He stated that he shuts and locks every door except the back one. He also informed Officer Kinahan that he had secured the gate surrounding the property, leading him to believe the individual may have come down the hill behind the building.

“[The business owner’s son] showed us the footage he had captured on his CCTV [i.e. video surveillance],” Officer Kinahan said. “Officer Benvissuto immediately recognized the suspect as Joshua Mercer, an individual known to the Leominster Police Department.”

According to police, Joshua G. Mercer, 40, resides on Mechanic Street in Leominster.

After Officer Kinahan asked the business owner’s son to send him all the “pertinent evidence and information he captured on the CCTV footage” to his work email, the officers left the scene without issue.

“Back at the station, Detective Crawford confirmed the individual’s identity as Joshua Mercer through the photos [the business owner’s son] had sent me,” Officer Kinahan said. “With the images and the confirmation of Joshua’s identity, I was able to establish probable cause for his arrest.”

Officer Kinahan, Officer Benvisutto, and Officer John Bouchard then drove to Mercer’s residence.

“Upon our arrival, we asked William [last name redacted] if he had seen Joshua around the house,” Officer Kinahan said. “Please note that William and Joshua are friends but identify as ‘brothers.’ William stated he had no idea where Joshua was and had not seen him.”

The officers then spoke with the homeowner who said she hadn’t seen Mercer at the house.

“We then asked if we could come inside and check to see if he was home,” Officer Kinahan said. “[The home owner] gave us verbal consent to enter the residence and search for Joshua.”

Officer Kinahan said that after searching the top and middle floors of the residence, “no findings were made.”

“We then came across the basement door, which was locked from the inside,” Officer Kinahan said. “[The home owner] told us that the door is not usually locked. We then announced ourselves multiple times before Joshua opened the door. Joshua was then informed that he was being placed under arrest for B[reaking] & E[ntering] in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony.”

Officer Kinahan handcuffed Mercer, double locking them for safety.

“Officer Benvissuto assisted me with the search incident to arrest,” Officer Kinahan added. “I placed Joshua into my cruiser. Officer Benvissuto read Joshua his Mirand rights verbatim from a card he carries on him. I then transported him to the department for booking.”

Mercer was charged with:

• Breaking & Entering Nighttime for Felony
• Larceny from Building

Mercer was scheduled to be arraigned in Leominster District Court on April 28, 2025, but failed to appear. The judge subsequently issued a default warrant for his arrest.

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