LEICESTER – On Friday, August, 22, 2025, at approximately 7:31 p.m., Leicester Police Officer Nicholas Wilson received a call from dispatch stating a Leicester resident wanted to report a restraining order violation.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Nicholas Wilson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
The reporting party, a woman in her 50s, told police the woman she had a restraining order against, Brenda Benoit, pulled into the parking lot of the Cumberland Farms on South Main Street and began taking photos of the license plate of her vehicle.
“[The reporting party] stated she left and went home,” Officer Wilson said. “While en route from a previous call, Officer [Michael] Lombardozzi entered the Cumberland Farms parking lot and was able to locate Ms. Benoit in her vehicle in the parking lot.”
According to police, Brenda C. Benoit, 62, is homeless in Leicester, MA. Court documents indicate she’s unemployed and widowed.
Officer Wilson said he responded to the Cumberland Farms parking lot a short time after Officer Lombardozzi, while Officer James Murphy responded to the reporting party’s residence and had her fill out a voluntary statement form. Officer Wilson added that the reporting party said she felt “harassed and scared” due to Benoit’s actions.
“Officer Lombardozzi and I spoke with Ms. Benoit, she stated that she was at Cumberland Farms, and saw [the reporting party], Ms. Benoit stated that [the reporting party] approached her in the parking lot and that she walked away and got into her vehicle,” Officer Wilson said. “Officer Lombardozzi asked Ms. Benoit if she took pictures of [the reporting party’s] vehicle and her license plate. Ms. Benoit stated she did, but [the reporting party] was not near her at the time she did this. It was determined at this time that Ms. Benoit did violate the 209A [i.e., abuse prevention] order.”
Officer Wilson said he then asked Benoit to exit her vehicle. She complied and was placed under arrest.
“Ms. Benoit was placed in handcuffs behind her back and double locked per department policy,” Officer Wilson said. “I secured Ms. Benoit in the right rear passenger compartment of my cruiser.”
Officer Wilson then transported Benoit back to the Leicester Police Station where she was booked on the following:
- Harassment Prevention Order, Violate
Benoit was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on Aug. 25, 2025. Following her arraignment, she was released on $300 cash bail.
At her Sept. 9, 2025 pretrial conference, Judge Maura McCarthy continued the case without a finding and placed Benoit on probation until Sept. 9, 2026, with conditions including a mental health evaluation and any recommended follow-up treatment.
According to the court docket for the case, on Sept. 15, 2025, the $300 cash bail Benoit posted was returned to her by check.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest 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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