Plymouth man arrested for threatening to slit friend’s throat with butcher knife in Leominster

LEOMINSTER — On Saturday, August 2, 2025, Officers Nicolas Rice and Patrick Flory of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to 122 Grant Street following a report that a man was threatened with a knife.

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

“Upon arrival the caller, Joseph [last name redacted], was in the roadway waving us down. I noticed he had a cut on his left leg and was actively bleeding,” Officer Flory said. “Joseph stated that his friend, Paul Antonelli, was wielding a knife and threatened to ‘slit his throat.’”

According to police, Paul J. Antonelli, 55, is a resident of White Horse Road in Plymouth, MA.

Officer Rice said Joseph told him they were hanging out inside the house when this happened.

“He described the knife to be a large silver butcher knife with a black handle. This placed Joseph in fear that he was going to be killed,” Officer Rice said. “I asked where Paul was now and Joseph told us that he was in his room upstairs. I called for an ambulance for Joseph’s knee and he declined medical attention. Joseph stated that he sustained the injury to his knee when he ran out of the house to get away from Paul. He stated that he fell.”

Officer Rice said that after he and Officer Flory knocked on the door several times and called out for Paul through open windows, they received no answer.

“We went around to the back of the house and found a door that was wide open. We advised Sergeant [John] Bouchard (who was on scene at this point) and asked if we can go in for a wellbeing check. He agreed,” Officer Rice said. “Officer Flory and I entered the home and loudly announced our presence. Due to the nature of the call, I drew my firearm and Officer Flory had his taser. We made it to the staircase to go upstairs and we heard a male voice answer us. We entered Paul’s bedroom on the second floor of the home and advised him to keep his hands where we could see them. I did not observe any knives on or near Paul, at the moment. I requested Paul speak with us outside.”

Officer Rice asked Antonelli what transpired that evening.

“He stated that Joseph ‘came at him’ and got in his face,” Officer Rice said. “I asked what happened with the knife and he stated that he pulled out the knife after Joseph had stated multiple times that he wanted to kill himself. Paul told me that he told Joseph to kill himself and then kill him (Paul) as well.”

Officer Rice asked Antonelli where the knife was now and he said “probably in the dishwasher.”

“Officer Flory went and looked for the knife while I spoke with Paul,” Officer Rice said. “Officer Flory came outside and had the knife in his hand. It was the same knife that Joseph described. At this point, I placed Paul under arrest for assault with a dangerous weapon. I placed him in handcuffs that were checked for tightness and double locked. Officer Flory brought his cruiser to the driveway to minimize the distance Paul had to walk. It should be noted that Paul and Joseph were both under the influence of alcohol.”

Officer Rice said that Officer Flory seized the knife as evidence and transported Antonelli to the Leominster Police Department for booking.

“With the permission of Sergeant Bouchard, I transported Joseph to Motel 6 so he had a place to stay for the night,” Officer Rice said. “Joseph was under the influence of alcohol and was being very argumentative while I was dropping him off at Motel 6. I strongly advised him to go in and get a room at the motel.”

Paul Antonelli was charged with the following:

• Assault with Dangerous Weapon

Antonelli was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Aug. 4, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from and not contact the victim, Joseph.

Antonelli attended a pretrial hearing on Sept. 3, 2025, which was continued to Oct. 1, 2025.

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

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