WEBSTER — On Friday, September 5, 2025, Webster Police Officer Alex Johnson was conducting proactive patrol in plain clothes, with his badge displayed on a chain around his neck. He was operating a regular passenger vehicle alongside Officer David Brooks, who was wearing a police outer carrier vest with his badge displayed on his chest.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Alex Johnson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Also assigned to this operation was Detective Sergeant Christopher Trainor, Officer Spencer Donovan, Officer Thomas Motyka and Officer Nicholas Trinque,” Officer Johnson said. “The goal of this operation was to identify street level drug sales as well as quality of life crimes.”
Officer Johnson said that, at approximately 10:51 a.m., as he and Officer Brooks were driving on Chase Avenue in the civilian passenger vehicle, he observed a man – later identified as Cesar Benitez – walking along Chase Avenue toward the bridge which separates that towns of Webster and Dudley.
According to police, Cesar J. Benitez, 38, is a resident of Webster, MA.
“Cesar was walking in a slow manner and was on his cell phone, while constantly looking around him,” Officer Johnson said. “This behavior is indicative of someone who is checking their surroundings for police presence.”
Officer Johnson said that he and Officer Brooks circled the area before returning to Chase Avenue. As they did, Cesar was standing on the bridge, looking down toward the water.
“We drove by Cesar which is when I observed a male party, known to me as Scott Kapurch, walking off Cross Street (in the Town of Dudley) and onto Chase Avenue,” Officer Johnson said. “Scott had a bag with him and he was walking in a quick manner, also on his cell phone. Scott had a bag with him and he was walking in a quick manner, also on his cell phone. Scott is well known to myself and this agency due to previous dealings and interactions. Scott is a known street-level drug dealer and he is also known to be a drug user. Scott has been arrested for Possession with Intent to Distribute as well as other various drug offenses.”
Officer Johnson said he also had knowledge that Kapurch also had two warrants out for his arrest for drug-related offenses.
“Officer Brooks notified the other officers working this operation of our observations. I drove up Cross Street and then parked near the intersection of Cross Street and Chase Avenue,” Officer Johnson said. “As we did this, Cesar walked from the bridge over to the area of Sinni’s Pub on Chase Avenue.”
Officer Johnson reported that Benitez met with Kapurch in front of Sinni’s Pub for approximately 10 seconds. After the two met up, Kapurch began walking in the direction of Cross Street and Benitez began walking back onto Chase Avenue.
“This quick meet-up is indicative with a street level drug sale. Based on my training and experience and these observations made, I had probable cause to believe that a drug transaction had just taken place,” Officer Johnson said. “I advised the other officers and requested Detective Sergeant Trainor and Officer Motyka to stop Scott while Officer Brooks and I were going to stop Cesar.”
Officer Johnson drove onto Chase Avenue toward Benitez’s location and parked his vehicle on the side of the street.
“I displayed my police badge around my neck and quickly approached Cesar, telling him to stop,” Officer Johnson said. “As soon as Cesar realized that Officer Brooks and I were police officers, he reached his right hand into his pocket and pinned it up against his side. While doing this, Cesar threw a small, white, item with his left hand. Cesar through the item into a wooded area behind him. As he did this, he turned his body away from Officers all while he still had his right hand in his pocket. Through my training and experience, I believed that Cesar was attempting to discard more evidence and or arm himself with a weapon to harm or kill officers.”
Officer Johnson said that he and Officer Brooks told Benitez several times to stop and show his hands.
“Cesar ignored officers’ commands, creating a hazardous and dangerous situation which served no legitimate purpose,” Officer Johnson said. “Officer Brooks and I grabbed onto Cesar and 1 took him to the ground. Cesar still had his hand in his pocket and was pulling away from [us]. After a brief struggle, iI was able to handcuff Cesar and place him under arrest.”
Once he was taken into custody, Benitez was searched and walked across the street.
“A search of Cesar’s person revealed a pipe commonly used to smoke crack cocaine, a cell phone and a lighter,” Officer Johnson said. “Cesar did not have any money on his person, which led me to believe he had just used whatever money he had to purchase crack cocaine from Scott.”
Benitez was transported to the Webster Police Department for booking.
Officer Johnson said that Officer Brooks, who is a K9 officer, then responded to the area with his K9 partner, OJ, to do a drug sniff test of the area.
“K9 OJ did indicate and hit on the presence of narcotics in the area, however, no evidence was recovered,” Officer Johnson said.
Cesar Benitez was charged with the following (Officer Johnson’s reasoning for the charge is provided in quotations):
- Disorderly Conduct: “Cesar Benitez recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, by creating a hazard and a physically offensive condition that served no legitimate purpose,” Officer Johnson said. “Officers had a lawful reason to detain Cesar based on probable cause of a drug deal that Officers believed occurred. Officers identified ourselves to Cesar as Police Officers and had our badges displayed. Cesar refused all commands from Officers and acted in a disorderly manner as we attempted to detain him.”
Benitez’s arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 5, 2025, in Dudley District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in September, 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
Thank you for all you officers do!