ASHBURNHAM — On Friday, April 11, 2025, Detective Les Holgerson of the Ashburnham Police Department was contacted by Detective Cameron Douglas of the Nashua Police Department regarding stolen property.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Detective Les Holgerson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Detective Douglas conducted an investigation regarding stolen scaffolding equipment from 75 Manchester Street in Nashua, New Hampshire,” Det. Holgerson said. “The owner of this property was identified as Garrett [last name redacted]. This had been reported stolen to Nashua police in January of 2025. [Garrett] estimated the equipment to be valued at approximately $2,800.”
Det. Holgerson said that – during his investigation, Det. Douglas secured a witness who had observed the equipment being taken.
“The witness was identified as Bruce [last name redacted], who resided nearby and within view of 75 Manchester Street,” Det. Holgerson said. “During August of 2024, [Bruce] stated that he observed and captured photographs of individuals working on the job site located at 75 Manchester Street.”
Bruce told police he had been monitoring the site for over a year and saw crews working there.
“In August of 2024, he observed and captured photographs of individuals he did not recognize loading something into a work van,” Det. Holgerson said.
Det. Douglas reviewed the photographs and observed a heavyset white male with tattoos on his back and arms loading a Titan Pump Jack Scaffolding onto a green van with Massachusetts registration [# redacted].
“According to RMV records, the van was registered to James Fidler,” Officer Holgerson said.
According to police, James B. Fidler, 54, is a resident of 28 Hay Road, Ashburnham, MA.
Det. Holgerson said that photographs of Fidler obtained by the Ashburnham Police Department from previous police encounters matched the individual depicted in the images provided by Bruce.
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“Det. Douglas was confident that the suspect was James Fidler and he had stolen the equipment,” Det. Holgerson added.
On April 10, 2025, Det. Douglas traveled to 28 Hay Road in Ashburnham and attempted to speak with Fidler, but was unable to make contact with him.
“However, Det. Douglas observed what appeared to be a Titan scaffolding in plain view in the yard of the premises of Hay Road,” Det. Holgerson noted.
Det. Douglas photographed the scaffolding and then showed it to the victim. The victim confirmed that it matched the equipment that he had reported stolen.
“Based on his investigation to this point, Det. Douglas felt that there was probable cause that Fidler had stolen the equipment in Nashua, New Hampshire, transported it to his residence located at 28 Hay Road in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and he was now in possession of the equipment, which was located at his residence,” Det. Holgerson said.
Det. Douglas then requested assistance from the Ashburnham Police Department to obtain a search warrant to retrieve the stolen equipment.
“The residence was photographed from the street,” Det. Holgerson said. “Based on Douglas’s report, I applied for a search warrant with Winchendon District Court which was granted.”
Det. Holgerson said he went to Fidler’s residence at 28 Hay Road at 3:40 p.m. with several Ashburnham police officers as well as Det. Douglas and his supervisor to execute the search warrant.
“Police were in full uniform with the exception of detectives who had their police badges displayed,” Det. Holgerson recounted. “I knocked on the front door of the home and made contact with a younger male who informed me Fidler was not home. I asked if he could contact Fidler on his cell phone so we could speak with him. I provided a copy of the search warrant to the male and explained why police were present. Body worn cameras were activated upon entering the property.”
Det. Holgerson said that – a short time later – he spoke with Fidler on the phone and explained why police were at his residence and that there was a search warrant to retrieve stolen property.
“I then turned the phone call over to Detective Douglas to explain details of the investigation,” Det. Holgerson said.
Det. Holgerson said that during the execution of the warrant, police found the following items in the yard on the right side of Fidler’s home, to the right of the garage area:
- A staging plank consistent with the system reported stolen
- Two pump jacks consistent with the system reported stolen
- Two support columns consistent with the system reported stolen
“These items were photographed, logged, seized, and transferred to Nashua police as evidence,” Det. Holgerson said. “The equipment was loaded onto a truck secured by Nashua police and transferred to their department under police escort.”
Det. Holgerson stated that police did not enter the residence at 28 Hay Road and did not seize any additional items.
Fidler was charged with:
- Receive Stolen Property +$1200
Fidler’s arraignment was scheduled for May 12, 2025 in Winchendon District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in April/May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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