GARDNER — On Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, Gardner Police Officers Bryant Powlowski and Joshua Willis were dispatched to 52 Hemlock Drive after multiple 911 callers reported a physical fight in progress.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts of Officer Bryant Powlowski and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Upon arrival, numerous people were outside, but there was no ongoing fight. Upon walking up to the crowd, two victims came forward, saying they were hit, one being Jonathan [last name redacted] and the other Sammi [last name redacted],” Officer Powlowski said. “While speaking with Sammi, she stated she was tired of being hit, as she had been the victim of a fight a week prior in the same area. I asked Sammi what happened today, and she told me that a bunch of guys came to ‘jump’ Jonathan, and when she tried to break it up while filming the altercation, one of the male parties hit her and tried to knock her phone out of her hands.”
Officer Powlowski said he asked Sammi if she had a video of the altercation, and she told him she did, showing him footage of two men punching and kicking Jonathan.
“Through the video and a Massachusetts-issued ID card, I confirmed that one of the male parties seen kicking Jonathan in the face with a hard-soled shoe in the video is identified as Marlon Escobales,” Officer Powlowski said. “Marlon kicks Jonathan and then punches him on the ground before turning around and swinging at Sammi two times. Sammi can be heard saying, ‘You just hit a girl, I’m pressing charges,’ in the video as the screen goes black, as it was knocked out of her hands.”
According to police, Marlon Escobales, 27, is a resident of Westminster, MA. Court documents indicate he’s single and works as a mover.
Officer Powlowski said he asked Sammi to send the video and two screenshots of the two male parties to the department’s central evidence cell phone.
“While speaking with Sammi, I was handed a phone and a debit card that were also left behind during the altercation. All property was taken back to the Gardner Police Department,” Officer Powlowski said.
Officer Powlowski said that after speaking with Sammi, he spoke with Jonathan and asked if he knew the people who attacked him, and Jonathan said he did not.
“I asked Jonathan if the people in the video were the ones he believed attacked him, to which he stated yes,” Officer Powlowski said. “While speaking to Jonathan, I observed multiple bumps and red marks consistent with him being the male party on the ground being kicked in the video. While watching the video with Jonathan, he said, ‘See, he kicked me in the face right there.’”
Officer Powlowski said Gardner Fire Department personnel arrived on scene to provide medical aid, but both Jonathan and Sammi declined treatment and signed refusal forms.
“The video shows two unidentified males involved in the fight along with Marlon. If identified, I will be sending charges up for assault and battery on the two unidentified male parties,” Officer Powlowski said. “While typing the report, the phone left on the scene was ringing with the name ‘wifey’ showing up on the screen. I answered the phone, announcing I was with the Gardner Police Department, and asked who I was speaking with. The female party on the phone identified herself as Summer [last name redacted], the name on the debit card that was left on scene.”
Summer told Officer Powlowski she was looking for her boyfriend.
“I asked Summer what her boyfriend’s name was, and she told me it was Marlon Escobales. Summer then asked why we had the phone,” Officer Powlowski said. “I explained to Summer that the phone was found in the Olde English Village [apartment community] in Gardner at the scene of a crime. Summer was advised that her debit card was at the station along with the phone, and she was free to come pick it up at any time. Due to the totality of the circumstances, with all of this evidence being found together on the scene, I believe Marlon is the suspect involved in the altercation.”
Officer Powlowski said that once the call with Summer was cleared, police issued a BOLO — a “be on the lookout” alert — to surrounding towns for Marlon, with probable cause to arrest him on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly kicking Jonathan with a hard-soled shoe.
Officer Powloski said, a short time later, Escobales walked into the lobby of the Gardner Police Department and was taken into custody.
“It should be noted that at the time of his arrest, Marlon was wearing the same black Nike sweatpants and black and white Nike shoes as shown in the video,” Officer Powlowski said.
After Escobales was booked he was placed in a holding cell at the station, Officer Powlowski said.
Marlon Escobales was arrested and charged with:
- Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (shod foot)
- Assault & Battery
Escobales was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Sept. 9, 2025.
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.
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