BARRE — On Sunday, July 13, 2025, at approximately 10:45 a.m., Officer Zachary Warner of the Barre Police Department was on patrol when he received a phone call from a woman named Chelsea who resides on Station Road.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officers Zachary Warner and Mark Sawyer and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Chelsea stated that she recently moved to [number redacted] Station Road to take care of Karen Delude who is a family friend,” Officer Warner said.
Officer Warner said that Chelsea stated that Karen’s 36-year-old son, Andrew Delude, whose residential address is the same as his mother’s, took her 2003 Buick SUV to a friend’s house approximately three weeks ago to have mechanical work done.
“Chelsea stated she has asked Andrew multiple times where the vehicle was, Andrew would respond at my friends but would not provide an address,” Officer Warner said. “Chelsea told Andrew she wanted her vehicle back but Andrew was still not providing the information about where the vehicle was. Chelsea told Andrew she was going to contact the police, and Andrew responded ‘I will have to leave in handcuffs.’”
Officer Warner said that Chelsea also told him that Andrew took his mother’s handicap van as well and was refusing to provide his mother with the location of the van.
“At this time, Chelsea provided me with Andrew’s number. I contacted Andrew via phone. I asked Andrew where the Buick was located. Andrew stated at his friend Ken’s house. When I asked Andrew for the address to Ken’s, Andrew stated that he does not feel comfortable providing me with that information,” Officer Warner said. “Due to Andrew’s behavior on the phone I asked if I can meet him in person, Andrew agreed.”
Officer Warner stated that he and Officer Ryan Walsh responded to Station Road, where they made contact with Andrew as he was walking along the roadway.
“I read Andrew his Miranda warnings, which Andrew understood,” Officer Warner said. “I began to ask Andrew about the Buick, Andrew stated that he cannot provide me with the location of the vehicle, and he feels he should handle it without the police. During my conversation with Andrew, I noticed some holes in his story about the location of the Buick.”
Officer Warner stated that he informed Andrew of the severity of the situation and told him there were inconsistencies in his story. He said he gave Andrew one final opportunity to tell the truth to Officer Walsh and himself.
Andrew stated that he gave the car to a girl in West Springfield that he was in an “on and off again” relationship with, named Autumn [last name redacted].
When Officer Warner asked Andrew where Autumn lives, Andrew said he didn’t know, that she lives in motels.
“I asked Andrew what right he has to give the Buick away, Andrew didn’t have a response,” Officer Warner said. “All Andrew said was ‘I will take the charges given.’”
Police attempt to recover both vehicles
At this time, Officer Walsh and Officer Warner asked Andrew to reach out to Autumn.
“Andrew was unable to get ahold of Autum and stated she may be ignoring him,” Officer Warner said. “Andrew did provide Officer Walsh and I a contact number for Autumn. Officer Walsh attempted to make contact with Autumn, but Autumn did not answer.”
Officer Walsh said he then asked Andrew about the handicap van that he took from his mother.
“The van was a 2007 Dodge Caravan bearing MA registration [# redacted],” Officer Warner said. “Andrew didn’t have much to say other than it may be in Connecticut or Springfield, MA. I asked Andrew if he understood the issue at hand, Andrew responded ‘I will just take the charges.’”
At this time, Officer Warner and Officer Walsh went to speak with Chelsea and Karen.
“While Officer Walsh was talking with Chelsea and Karen, I went to my cruiser to do a CJIS [Criminal Justice Information Services] query on both vehicles,” Officer Warner said. “Chelsea stated that she had access to an old phone that Andrew used to use, in the messages it shows Andrew texting an Autumn in regards to giving her the Buick.”
In the text messages, Andrew tells Autumn that he thinks he is being arrested for stealing the vehicle.
“Andrew also stated in the message that Autumn needs to lay low with the Buick, [adding] that ‘You’re on probation, no need for both of us to get in trouble,’” Officer Warner said.
Officer Warner stated that at that time, he and Officer Walsh informed Karen and Chelsea that they would issue a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert and enter the vehicles into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) database as stolen.
Vehicles located in Springfield and Amherst
On July 15, 2025, at approximately 8:45 a.m., Barre Police Officer Mark Sawyer was informed by Officer Kennedy of the Springfield Police Department that the Buick was located in the area of 1800 Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield, unoccupied.
“The Springfield Police Department took custody of the vehicle and towed it to a local towing impound yard (CJ’s Towing 350 Pasco Road, Springfield, Massachusetts), Officer Sawyer said. “I advised Chelsea of the current location of her vehicle and provided a phone number to CJ’s Towing to inquire her next steps to retrieve the vehicle. I requested dispatch to remove the vehicle as stolen from NCIC.”
Then, on Friday, July 18, 2025, Officer Warner was on patrol when at approximately 8:30 p.m., he was advised by dispatch that Officer Jacob Laughlin from the Hadley Police Department had pulled the van over.
“I made contact with Officer Laughlin,” Officer Warner said. “Officer Laughlin informed me that Andrew was the operator. Officer Laughlin informed me the vehicle would be towed by Ernie’s Towning in Amherst, MA.”
Officer Laughlin also told Officer Warner that Andrew was going to be taken into custody.
“Officer Laughlin informed me he was going to hold the vehicle and process it,” Officer Warner added.
Texts and consented phone search support case
On July 20, 2025, Officer Warner requested Barre Police Detective Robert Brooks follow up at Karen and Andrew’s residence on Station Road.
“I requested Det. Brooks to capture photos of the Buick after learning that Springfield Police Department did not conduct an inventory of the Buick when it was recovered,” Officer Warner said. “During this time Det. Brooks was speaking with Chelsea, Chelsea stated that the phone she has was given to her son (JV1) [i.e., ‘juvenile 1’] approximately a month ago. The phone was given to her son by Andrew. Chelsea stated that the phone has more messages regarding the Buick. Det. Brooks seized the phone.”
On July 21, 2025, while Officer Warner was working a patrol shift with Detective Brooks, he followed up with Chelsea.
“I asked Chelsea if the phone was given to her son,” Officer Warner said. “Chelsea stated ‘yes Andrew gave the phone to my son.’ Chelsea stated the phone had been in her son’s possession the whole time. At this time, I provided Chelsea with a consent to search form for the phone. Chelsea signed and allowed me to have access to the phone.”
Officer Warner stated that Chelsea informed him that Officer Laughlin of the Hadley Police Department had told her that Andrew admitted to leaving the Buick on Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“At this time, I requested Det. Brooks to remove the phone from evidence,” Officer Warner said. “There were multiple texts from Autumn dating back from June 24. On June 24, Autumn was asking Andrew if he could help her put break fluid in the car. Andrew did not respond.”
Officer Warner reported that, on July 12, Andrew sent a text message to Autumn stating that the police had reported the car as stolen and that he didn’t want her to get in trouble.
“On July 13th, Chelsea texted Autumn that she wanted the car back. Autumn thought it was Andrew texting her. Autumn responded, ‘I did not steal your car, you told me I can use it as long as I wanted, that some lady let you take her car and you handed me the keys,’” Officer Warner said. “Chelsea texted back stating that this was not Andrew and this was the owner of the Buick. At this point Autumn stated that she would bring the car anywhere for Chelsea and the conversation ended. At this time, the phone was placed into evidence on airplane mode to await to be brought to NESPIN [New England State Police Information Network] for a forensic dump of the evidence.”
Officer Warner said that based on the facts and circumstances, he believed there was probable cause to charge Andrew Delude with the following:
- Larceny of a Motor Vehicle (two counts)
A court summons was issued to Andrew, with his arraignment scheduled for August 18, 2025, in East Brookfield District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in July, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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