Springfield felon arrested in Webster with loaded gun, drugs, and high-capacity magazine after Planet Fitness stop

WEBSTER — On Monday, April 28th, at approximately 2:50 a.m., Officer Nicholas Trinque of the Webster Police Department alerted fellow officers about a vehicle he observed pulling into the Planet Fitness parking lot on East Main Street.

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

“The vehicle was a gray Chevy Malibu, bearing MA [number redacted], that was registered to a female out of Springfield,” Officer Johnson said. “Officer Trinque stated the vehicle parked next to another vehicle, a black Honda SUV, bearing MA [number redacted]. This vehicle was registered to a female party out of Rochdale. Although this parking lot has a right of access to the general public, none of the businesses within the plaza are open. In addition, this plaza parking lot is a known location for drug transactions to take place.”

Officer Trinque reported that a woman exited the Chevy Malibu and entered the Honda SUV.

“At the same time, a male party got into the driver’s seat of the Chevy Malibu,” Officer Johnson said. “This male would later be identified as Shain West, of Springfield. This raised Officers’ suspicion of criminal activity. Not only is this parking lot a commonly used area for narcotics sales, neither vehicle that Officer Trinque observed came back registered out of Webster. In addition, Springfield is known to have a large amount of narcotics and firearms related crimes. A significant amount of the drugs that are being distributed around Massachusetts originate from Springfield and its surrounding areas.”

According to police, Shain P. West, 27, is a resident of Home Street in Springfield.

According to Officer Johnson, approximately two to three minutes later, Officer Trinque reported that he observed the two vehicles leaving the plaza’s parking lot then travel west on East Main Street.

“At this time, I was traveling east on East Main Street and observed the vehicles go by my location,” Officer Johnson said. “As the vehicles went by, I noticed that the Chevy Malibu only had one functioning plate light that was very dimly lit. According to Massachusetts General Laws, a vehicle’s registration plate must be visible at 60 feet. Due to the dimly lit plate light, I was unable to read the vehicle’s registration at an approximate distance of 15-20 feet.”

Officer Johnson said he turned my cruiser around on East Main Street and began to follow the Chevy Malibu as it took a left onto Whitcomb Street.

“Both the Chevy Malibu and the Honda SUV traveled south on Whitcomb Street at a slow rate of speed,” Officer Johnson noted. “As we approached the intersection of Whitcomb, Washington and Cutler Streets, the Honda SUV continued straight as the Chevy Malibu turned left onto Washington Street.

Officer Johnson said that as the Chevy Malibu turned left onto Washington Street, he activated his emergency lights and conducted a motor vehicle stop due to the previously mentioned number plate violation.

“As I was radioing the vehicle stop to dispatch, I observed the operator (Shain West) moving abruptly around the driver’s seat,” Officer Johnson said. “Shain kept reaching down, reaching in the glove box and shifting his body in various positions.

Officer Johnson stated that he approached the passenger’s side of the vehicle, identified himself to West, and advised him of the reason for the stop.

“Shain stated that officers were harassing him and he was just trying to get to his girlfriend’s apartment on Maple Street,” Officer Johnson said. “It should be noted that Maple Street is nowhere near Washington Street and this direction of travel would not make any logical sense.”

When Officer Johnson asked West for his license and registration, he stated that he only had a learner’s permit.

“I asked Shain if the vehicle was registered to him, to which he stated it was registered to his aunt however he is the primary user of the vehicle,” Officer Johnson said. “Shain told me he works at Papa Ginos in Webster and he was tired from working all day long. Shain did not provide a reason as to where he was coming from this evening.”

At this time, Officer Bryan Blomgren arrived on scene to assist. Officer Sean Ebbeling arrived on scene to assist a short time later.

“I went back to my cruiser and entered Shain’s information into CJIS [the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database], which revealed that he did not have a valid driver’s license,” Officer Johnson said. “I then conducted a Board of Probation (BOP) query on Shain in order to access his criminal history. I noticed that Shain was indicted in 2018 out of Worcester Superior Court; for Robbery, Aggravated Assault & Battery causing serious bodily injury and Assault & Battery causing serious bodily injury. Shain was convicted of all these charges and was sentenced to 4-6 years in state prison, which made him a convicted felon.”

Officer Johnson stated that after conducting a CJIS query of Shain’s information, he returned to the driver’s side of the vehicle and requested that Shain step out so he could speak to him further.

“Shain appeared very nervous and asked why I was requesting he step out,” Officer Johnson said. “I told Shain that he did not have a valid driver’s license and he could technically be placed under arrest. Shain stepped out of the vehicle and I brought him to the rear of the vehicle before conducting a pat frisk for officer safety.”

Officer Johnson then informed West that he was going to conduct “a pat frisk” of his vehicle.

“Shain started looking at the vehicle and asked why I was going to do that,” Officer Johnson said. “I told Shain to start making phone calls and stand with Officer Blomgren. Prior to initiating a frisk of the vehicle, I asked Shain if I was going to locate anything illegal inside. Shain stated there was nothing illegal inside ‘his’ vehicle aside from marijuana. As I began my frisk of the vehicle, I opened the center console and observed a large bag of marijuana.  The bag appeared to be bigger than 1 oz, which is the maximum amount of marijuana one can have within a motor vehicle. Additionally, the bag was not in the original storage container nor was it properly secured or locked up. I removed the bag and put it on the driver’s seat. As I did this, I looked further inside the center console. This was the area of where I saw Shain reaching around prior to first making contact with him. While looking in the center console, I observed an unsecured live .22 caliber round.”

Upon locating the live round, Officer Johnson stated that he immediately stopped and walked over to Shain, who was on his cell phone. He then placed Shain in handcuffs and advised him that he was being detained.

Officer Johnson then read West his Miranda rights from a card he carries on his person.

“Shain was provided with his Miranda Rights per my pocket card, to which he stated he wished to talk,” Officer Johnson said. “I told Shain I located ammunition within the vehicle. Shain asked me where I found the round and said ‘I don’t understand.’ I then asked Shain if I was going to find a firearm in the vehicle. Shain’s response to this was ‘in the vehicle, no.’ As Shain said this, he looked directly at the trunk of the vehicle and had a hard time looking away. I asked Shain if he had a License to Carry Firearms, to which he said, ‘No, I don’t understand how that’s in my vehicle right now sir.’ After saying this, Shain stated, ‘I want to talk to my lawyer and you need a search warrant for everything in this car now.’ I advised Shain we didn’t need a search warrant and he could talk to his lawyer after.”

Officer Johnson stated that Shain appeared extremely nervous about what might be in the vehicle and repeatedly told officers that they needed a search warrant. Shain was then placed in the rear of Officer Johnson’s cruiser and was further advised that he was still only being detained.

“At this time based on the totality of the circumstances, I believed a firearm and or other contraband was present,” Officer Johnson said.

Officer Johnson added that after Shain was secured in his cruiser, officers began conducting a probable cause search of the entire vehicle.

“Upon opening the trunk, I located another large bag of marijuana (approximately 21 grams). As I located this, Officer Blomgren located a small fanny pack/backpack next to the marijuana. Upon picking it up, Officer Blomgren said it felt heavy and handed the bag to me,” Officer Johnson said. “As soon as he handed the bag to me, I felt a hard object that I knew to be a firearm.”

Officer Johnson said he then opened the bag and observed a black handgun with a wooded grip.

“The firearm was a Smith and Wesson Model 422, .22 caliber handgun,” Officer Johnson said. “I released the detachable magazine, which had 10 live rounds of .22 caliber ammunition inside. I then pulled the slide of the firearm back and cleared it, confirming it was safe and empty. The handgun did not have a live round in the chamber.”

Officer Johnson said that he continued searching the trunk and located a second duffel bag.

“Under numerous items of men’s clothing, I observed empty sandwich baggies and a scale,” Officer Johnson said. “Through my training and experience, these items along with the multiple baggies of marijuana, are indicative of drug distribution. The total weight of the marijuana bags that were found was approximately 2.847 ounces. After photographing these items, I picked up a shoe box that had a smaller card board box inside. The box felt heavy and upon opening it, I located several clear plastic baggies. Inside the plastic baggies were numerous calibers of live ammunition, along with another magazine that was loaded with live rounds. This magazine was a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber high-capacity magazine with the capability of holding 17 rounds. The magazine was loaded with 11 live .40 caliber rounds inside. One of the baggies had 35.38 special live rounds inside.”

Officer Johnson stated that officers completed the search of the vehicle and did not locate any additional evidence or contraband.

“Anything Automotive was requested for the tow and eventually arrived on scene,” Officer Johnson said. “The vehicle was towed to the Webster Police Station parking lot. Due to the totality of the circumstances, I advised Detective Sergeant Christopher Trainor of the vehicle and requested the vehicle be seized for asset forfeiture.

West was subsequently transported to the Webster Police Department for booking.

West’s bail was set at $10,000.

West was charged with the following, (Officer Johnson’s explanation for the charges are provided in quotations):

1. Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact operate a motor vehicle on a public way in the Town of Webster, without a valid driver’s license,” Officer Johnson said.
2. Number Plate Violation: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact operate a motor vehicle on a public way in the Town of Webster, with a number plate that was not visible by the required 60 feet,” Officer Johnson said.
3. Carrying a Firearm Without a License: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact carry a firearm within his vehicle, while operating such vehicle on a public way in the Town of Webster,” Officer Johnson said.
4. Carrying a Loaded Firearm Without a License: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact carry a loaded firearm within his vehicle, while operating such vehicle on a public way in the Town of Webster,” Officer Johnson said. “The firearm was loaded with a detachable magazine with 10 live rounds of ammunition inside.”
5. Armed Career Criminal Level 1 (Firearm Violation with 1 Prior Violent/Drug Crime): “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact have a loaded firearm in his possession while operating a motor vehicle on a public way in the Town of Webster,” Officer Johnson said. “Shain is a convicted felon and was previous found guilty of Robbery, A&B Dangerous Weapon Causing Serious Bodily Injury and A&B Serious Bodily Injury. Shain was sentenced to 4-6 years in state prison from this case which was heard at Worcester Superior Court (06/12/18, Docket #1885CR0169A (B & C). Due to these convictions, Shain is considered an armed career criminal, level 1.”
6. Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact possess a large capacity magazine, which had the capability of holding 17 rounds of ammunition. Inside the magazine were 15 live rounds of ammunition.,” Officer Johnson said.
7. Possession of Ammunition Without an FID Card (3 Counts): “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact possess 3 different calibers of ammunition without a valid FID or LTC. The ammunition calibers were .22 caliber, .40 caliber and .38 special caliber,” Officer Johnson said.
8. Improper Storage of a Firearm: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact possess a firearm within the trunk of his motor vehicle, that was not properly secured by a cable lock or trigger safety device,” Officer Johnson said.
9. Possession with Intent to Distribute Class D Drug: “On 04/28/25, Shain West did in-fact possess just under 3 ounces of marijuana, that was packaged in numerous baggies, with the intent to distribute,” Officer Johnson said. “In addition, Shain had empty sandwich baggies and a scale, all of which are indicative with drug distribution.”

West was arraigned in Dudley District Court on April 28, 2025. During his arraignment, the Commonwealth filed a motion for pretrial detention, which the judge allowed. West was held in jail until his dangerousness hearing, which was scheduled for May 5, 2025.

On May 5, 2025, during the initial dangerousness hearing, the Commonwealth filed a motion and exhibit list for the dangerousness hearing. The filing included a request to impound the documents, which was allowed on May 12, 2025 by Jaclyn Greenhalgh. The dangerousness hearing was then continued to May 12, 2025. During the May 12 hearing, West was found dangerous and ordered held without bail for 120 days.

On May 20, 2025, West’s attorney filed a petition to review the dangerousness finding. West’s next court date is a motion for judicial review hearing scheduled for June 10, 2025, to address that petition.

Editor’s Note: The documents News Link Live obtained through its FOIA request did not include any information about what happened to the woman who was seen exiting the Chevy Malibu.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in April, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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