ASHBURNHAM — On Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at approximately 5:20 a.m., Sergeant Matthew Ziomek and Officer Dylan Denis of the Ashburnham Police Department were dispatched to a residence on River Styx Road.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Sergeant Matthew Ziomek and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The resident of [# redacted], Matthew [last name redacted] reported that a man with no shirt, dark shorts and flip flops was ‘shadow boxing’ in his driveway,” Sergeant Ziomek said. On arrival, officers checked the immediate area of the house with no findings. [Home # redacted] River Styx Road is a single-family home with a long driveway, approximately 1/4 mile. The home is not visible from the roadway and is surrounded by woods.”
Sergeant Ziomek said that he spoke with the resident and reporting party, Matthew, and learned that the man was also caught on his home security camera footage looking into a vehicle parked in the driveway.
“[Matthew] advised that the man took off just before officers arrived and headed into the woods and back out towards the roadway,” Sgt. Ziomek said.
The officers then left the residence in an attempt to catch up with the suspect, who they presumed was somewhere along Riverstyx Road.
“As we were exiting the driveway, I heard a commotion in a wooded area on the south side of the driveway,” Sgt. Ziomek said. “Based on my training and experience, it was evident that the rustling of leaves and breaking of branches was a person in the woods. I called out to the male, ordering him out of the woods and identifying myself as a police officer. The male continued to run in the woods, away from officers and back towards the home.”
Sergeant Ziomek said that, around this time, Ashburnham police dispatch informed him that Matthew had seen the suspect running past his home and into the woods behind his property.
“Ofc. Denis and I walked to the rear of the home and could hear the male but still could not see him. It appeared at this time that the male was traveling northeast,” Sgt. Ziomek said.
Sergeant Ziomek contacted Westminster police and Ashby police and orchestrated a perimeter with Westminster police on Route 12 (i.e., Fitchburg Road) and Ashby police on Russell Hill Road. A K9 from the Gardner Police Department was contacted to respond to the scene as well, he said.
“A few moments later, Westminster police advised that they had located the male (later identified as Messiah Barnes-Lofton) a short distance into the woods in the area of 42 Fitchburg Road. Ofc. Denis and I immediately responded to that location to assist.”
According to police, Messiah Barnes-Lofton, 26, is a resident of Water Street in Ashburnham, MA.
“On arrival, I observed Barnes-Lofton approximately 50 yards into a sparsely wooded area on the north side of the road. I could immediately hear the male yelling loudly and incoherently in the woods,” Sgt. Ziomek said. “Additionally, I observed that Barnes-Lofton was thrashing wildly as he walked through the woods in a chaotic/tumultuous manner. It appeared that he may be under the influence of drugs or having a mental health emergency of sorts, or a combination of the two. As a precaution, AFD [Ashburnham Fire Department] paramedics were contacted to stage an ambulance in the area.”
Sergeant Ziomek said officers initially did not enter the woods because they were unsure of Barnes-Lofton’s intentions and whether he was armed.
“Based on the above facts and the fact that Barnes-Lofton had fled from officers previously, extreme caution was exercised upon entering the woods. As officers approached, the male laid down on his stomach as if to submit to officers,” Sgt. Ziomek said. “I called out to him, identifying myself as a police officer and ordered him to place his hands behind his back. The male remained on the ground, but did not comply with my orders. Barnes-Lofton’s hands were underneath him and not visible at this time.”
Sergeant Ziomek took position with the other officers around Barnes, then drew his department-issued taser and aimed it at Barnes-Lofton.
“As Barnes-Lofton was not responding, I continued to call out to him with the intention of taking him safely into custody,” Sgt. Ziomek said. “As officers approached to take control of Barnes-Lofton, he moved rapidly and began to stand up. Fearing that Barnes-Lofton would attempt to assault officers or flee down the steep embankment to our rear, I deployed my taser.”
Sergeant Ziomek said that Barnes-Lofton was subjected to an initial five-second taser deployment cycle, and when it ended, Barnes-Lofton attempted to get up again.
“A second five second deployment was initiated in an attempt to gain compliance,” Officer Ziomek said. “Following the second shock-deployment, Barnes-Lofton was compliantly handcuffed to the rear. It should be noted that a total of two taser probes were deployed striking the lower section Of Barnes-Lofton’s neck by his collar bone and his stomach, the probes were removed, retained, and placed into APD [Ashburnham Police Department] evidence. A use of force report was later generated per APD policy.”
Sergeant Ziomek said officers initially refrained from using physical force with Barnes-Lofton, instead giving verbal commands such as “get down” and “roll over” in an effort to de-escalate the situation and handcuff him.
“Officers attempted to communicate with Barnes-Lofton after he was handcuffed, however he was not verbally responsive. Barnes-Lofton was breathing loudly and writhing around on the ground,” Officer Ziomek said. “Barnes-Lofton was immediately placed in the recovery position as officers attempted to address an apparent medical issue.”
Ashburnham Fire Department paramedics arrived a short time later and administered a 4mg dose of Narcan and an additional 2mg does of Narcan to Barnes-Lofton
“Shortly after this, Barnes-Lofton came to and was able to communicate with officers,” Sergeant Ziomek said. “A black folding knife was removed from Barnes-Lofton’s left pocket along with a number of personal belongings. A Ziploc bag with a large quantity of blue pills labeled ‘M-30’ (suspected Oxycodone) was recovered from Barnes-Lofton’s right pocket along with a number of straws and a single dollar bill.”
Once Barnes-Lofton became responsive, Sergeant Ziomek said he cooperated with officers and was carried to an ambulance with assistance from paramedics. He was then transported to Heywood Hospital for treatment. Ofc. Denis accompanied Barnes-Lofton to the hospital and later Mirandized him in the hospital.
“Barnes-Lofton did possess a large quantity of suspected Oxycodone pills, the pills were photographed and later measured at 18.8g (trafficking weight per MGL Chapter 94C Section 32E),” Sgt. Ziomek said. “Additionally, Barnes-Lofton’s behavior did disturb [Matthew’s] reasonable expectation of peace and quiet by entering his property at approximately 5:20 a.m. and causing alarm in an otherwise quiet, residential area.”
Sergeant Ziomek said it was later determined that Barnes-Lofton had an extraditable warrant issued by the North Carolina Department of Corrections (NHDOC) for a probation violation that occurred on May 30, 2025.
“NHDOC was contacted by both APD dispatch and Sgt. [Brian] Rosengren and it was confirmed that Barnes would indeed be extradited,” Officer Ziomek said.
The bail commissioner was contacted at approximately 8:26 a.m., and Barnes-Lofton was ordered held without bail.
When Messiah Barnes-Lofton was released from the hospital, he was booked at the Ashburnham Police Department on the following charges:
- Fugitive from Justice on Court Warrant
- Trafficking in Heroin/Morphine/Opium, 18 grams or more, less than 36 grams
- Disturbing the Peace
Barnes-Lofton was arraigned in Winchendon District Court on Aug. 11, 2025. During his arraignment, Judge Mark Goldstein amended the charge of Trafficking in Heroin/Morphine/Opium, 18 grams or more, less than 36 grams, to Possess Class B Drug with Intent to Distribute. Judge Goldstein also ordered that if bail were posted, Barnes-Lofton must return to Washington, North Carolina within 48 hours. Barnes-Lofton waived extradition, which means he agreed to return voluntarily to North Carolina.
On Sept. 16, during a pretrial hearing, Judge Jaclyn Greenhalgh set bail at $5,000 cash or $50,000 surety. That same day, Barnes-Lofton pleaded guilty to the possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute and disturbing the peace charges and was sentenced to 37 days in jail with credit for 37 days already served.
Court documents show that Barnes-Lofton posted $5,000 on Sept. 28, but later failed to appear for a continuance of the pretrial hearing scheduled for Oct. 7, 2025. His bail was forfeited on Oct. 7, and a default warrant was issued two days later after no action was taken on his attorney’s motion to reinstate bail.
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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