Clinton man charged after allegedly threatening teens with knife over fight involving his son

CLINTON — On Wednesday July 2, 2025, at approximately 4:45 p.m., Officer Kristopher Vazquez of the Clinton Police Department was dispatched to the area of Prescott Street following a report of a man in a possibly blue sedan, brandishing a knife, and threatening a group of juveniles.

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

According to Officer Vazquez, the 911 caller, identified as 54-year-old Luke [last name redacted] reported that he did not see the altercation, but heard it down the road.

Luke said that the four juveniles who allegedly had been threatened were on bicycles and approached him after the incident. Luke asked them what occurred.

“After they told him about the male party brandishing a knife, [Luke] called 911 on their behalf,” Officer Vazquez said. “Approximately 10 minutes prior to being dispatched to Prescott Street, I was driving eastbound on Water Street. When I passed Prescott St, I saw a group of four juveniles riding bicycles on Prescott Street, going towards Water Street. However, I did not notice any other commotion. Based on prior interactions, I recognized one of the juveniles to be [name redacted, he’s 14-years-old].”

Officer Vazquez said he then began searching the area for the four juveniles with Officer Shane Gilman.

“At 5:21 p.m., Officer Gilman located a large group of teenagers on Haskell Avenue,” Officer Vazquez said. “I arrived minutes later and began speaking with them. [Name redacted, a 19-year-old male] reported to me that he was not involved, but heard about the incident. He identified two of the juveniles to be [the aforementioned 14-year-old], and [a 16-year-old male].”

After speaking with the group, Officer Vazquez said he headed to Wilson Street to speak with the 14-year-old boy at his residence.

“[He] reported to me that he recognized the male who was allegedly threatening his group of friends to be the father of [name redacted], who I know to be Kenny Santos.”

According to police, Kenny Santos, 33, is a resident of Chestnut Street in Clinton, MA.

“[The 14-year-old boy] explained that Kenny was seen operating two different vehicles throughout multiple confrontations,” Officer Vazquez recounted. “He described one as an older model blue sedan, and the other as a black sedan. [The juvenile] stated that he did not see a knife, however, he wasn’t always near the other juveniles, during the multiple confrontations. After I turned off my body worn camera, [the boy] again approached me, explaining that he recalled Kenny exiting his vehicle to confront the teenagers.”

After speaking with the 14-year-old, Officer Vazquez headed to the 16-year-old boy’s residence on Forest Street.

“After arriving, I was notified that [the 16-year-old’s] parents were at the police station,” Officer Vazquez said. “I met [the boy’s] parents, [names redacted] at the station, and explained to them that I needed to speak with [their son] about what had happened. I then followed them to [# redacted] Terrance Avenue where [their son] was located.”

On the front lawn of the Terrance Avenue residence, Officer Vazquez said the 16-year-old boy explained to him that he was riding bikes with the three other juveniles, one of whom happened to be his cousin.

“[The juvenile] explained that ‘[one of the boy’s] dad’ (Kenny) was following them everywhere they went,” Officer Vazquez said. “He added that he saw Kenny operating both an older blue sedan, as well as a black sedan. [The boy] stated to me that Kenny was yelling out of his car window at the group and repeatedly driving up and down the street to do so. He clarified that Kenny, at one point, exited the vehicle, and stepped towards the group with his hand in his pocket. As [the juvenile] was describing the confrontation, he demonstrated, by placing his right hand into his pocket, and began seemingly pulling on an object as if he were removing a weapon from his pocket. While demonstrating, he mimicked Kenny by stating, ‘What’s up?’”

Officer Vazquez stated that, based on his training and experience, saying “What’s up?” in the manner the boy described is a common way for individuals to signal a readiness to fight.

“Afterwards Kenny reportedly got back into his vehicle and continued pursuing the juveniles on their bicycles, this time brandishing a large black knife and stating, ‘You see how easy that would’ve been? I could’ve just killed all you little f*cks!’ [The juvenile] showed me the length of the knife using his two index fingers, which I estimated to be approximately eight inches in length. When asked, [the boy] stated that at one point, he was fearfully riding his bike away from Kenny.”

After speaking with the 16-year-old male juvenile, one of the other juveniles in the group came to the front lawn and told Officer Vazquez that the suspect was driving an older model ‘teal blue maybe tinted green’ Honda Civic and he gave the officer the vehicle’s plate number.

“[The juvenile] also showed me a short video that he took of the vehicle, clearly displaying the plate. [He] added that he witnessed Kenny wave a black knife at the group that he showed with his hands to be approximately six inches in length,” Officer Vazquez said. Later adding, “Dispatch notified me that Massachusetts Registration 4XXXXX, came back to a green 1998 Honda Civic, registered to Kenny Santos.”

At approximately 7:40 p.m., Officer Vazquez and Officer Brian O’Malley arrived at Santos’ apartment, which is located at 276 Chestnut Street.

“I could see Kenny’s green Honda Civic parked in the driveway. I was greeted at the door by his mother [name redacted] who explained that Kenny was currently at work,” Officer Vazquez said. “When I inquired why his Civic was in the driveway, she explained that Kenny was currently driving her black Ford Taurus, because his vehicle was having radiator issues.”

Officer Vazquez said that Santos arrived at 276 Chestnut Street at approximately 8:00 p.m. in his mother’s black Ford Taurus with Massachusetts plates.

“Kenny denied brandishing a knife, however admitted to threatening the juveniles by stating, ‘If you put your hands on my kid again, you’re going to get what’s coming to you.’ Kenny added, ‘I’ll beat the sh*t of a 16-year-old. I’ll tell that to your face. I don’t give a f*ck.’ He continued, stating, ‘I could’ve got out of the car and beat the sh*t out of all four of those children if I wanted to, but I didn’t. I threatened him and told him not to come near my kid again.’ Kenny was referring to a fight that allegedly took place nine days prior, on Monday, June 23, between his son [name redacted] and a group of juveniles. The fight was never reported to the Clinton Police Department.”

Officer Vazquez said that Santos was placed under arrest, handcuffed, and transported to the Clinton Police Station for booking.

“The knife was not located at the time of this report’s writing,” Officer Vazquez noted in his Personnel Narrative for the incident.

Santos was charged with the following:

• Assault with a Dangerous Weapon
• Disorderly Conduct
• Disturbing the Peace

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

To learn more about News Link Live’s unique business model, please read the following:
An online business model that could replace local newspapers

Why The Leominster Champion Failed

The Medium is the Message by Marshall McCLuhan

The Ego and the ID by Sigmund Freud