LEOMINSTER — On Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, at approximately 1:45 a.m., Officers Carmen Garcia and Adam Washburn of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to an apartment at 125 Adams Street following a report of a possible breaking and entering.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Carmen Garcia and Sergeant Ryan Morrell do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Dispatch advised responding units that the reporting party said a room in the residence had been broken into, and the reporting party spoke only Spanish,” Officer Garcia said. “I assisted Officer Washburn with translation.”
When Officer Garcia and Officer Washburn arrived on scene, they met with the reporting party, later identified as Jose [last name redacted].
“[Jose] stated that his aunt, identified as Maria [last name redacted], owns the building (125 Adams Street) and rents out the rooms,” Officer Garcia explained.
Officer Garcia said that, Jose, who lives in one of the rooms on the first floor, said his aunt is currently visiting Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
“[Jose] stated one of the residents of the building had reported someone breaking into her room and destroying her property. This tenant was later identified as Katherine [last name redacted]. Please note, the tenants rent singular rooms and share the common areas, such as the kitchen and the bathroom,” Officer Garcia said. Later adding, “[Jose] stated he did not hear any noise when the incident happened.”
Officer Garcia said that, while she was speaking with Jose outside the building, she noticed a woman peering from a window on the second floor of the apartment building. Officer Garcia asked Jose if the woman in the window was the tenant whose room had been broken into. Jose confirmed that she was and let the officers inside the building so they could speak with her.
The officers met with the tenant, Katherine, who was waiting outside her room on the second floor when the arrived.
Katherine told Officer Garcia in Spanish that after she discovered her room had been broken into, she noticed that bleach had been poured onto the clothing in her closet and water had been poured on her television.
“I could smell the odor of bleach coming from inside [Katherine’s] room,” Officer Garcia noted.
Officer Garcia added that the room was in complete disarray, with the mattress off the box spring and shoes, clothing, and personal items strewn across the floor.
Officer Garcia then asked Katherine if anything was missing from her room and she stated a PlayStation 5 with two game dual shock controllers were missing, but money that she had hidden underneath her mattress was on top of the box spring and not taken.
Officer Garcia then asked Katherine how she discovered her room in the state it is presently in.
“[Katherine] stated that she shares her room with her younger brother, identified as Feldine [last name redacted],” Officer Garcia said. “[Katherine] had left to celebrate Thanksgiving with her sister in Fitchburg. While at her sister’s, she received a FaceTime call from Feldine.”
Katherine told Officer Garcia that Feldine had been out with a friend around the same time she was with her sister, and Feldine came back to the residence and went into the common area of the kitchen with said friend.
“Feldine walked to their room (it is on the same floor as the common areas), and discovered the door was partially open and not closed as when they had both left for the festivities,” Officer Garcia recounted. “Feldine discovered the room was in disarray and the odor of bleach was coming from the room’s closet. Feldine proceeded to call [Katherine] via FaceTime and showed her while on the call.”
Katherine said she then left her sister’s house immediately, returned to her room at approximately 1:15 a.m., and confirmed the damages her brother had discovered.
Officer Garcia asked Katherine if she knew who might have caused the damage. She said she believed it was the partner of her longtime platonic male friend, David [last name redacted] — whom she referred to as his “wife” — later identified as Karen Florentino.
“Please note they are not legally married,” Officer Garcia said of David and Florentino.
According to police, Karen Beltre Florentino, 23, is a resident of 125 Adams Street, Apt. [# redacted], Leominster, MA.
Katherine told Officer Garcia she believed Florentino was responsible because Florentino believed Katherine and David were having an affair.
“[Katherine] shared text messages with Ms. Florentino, stating that she is not involved in a romantic relationship with [David] and they are just friends,” Officer Garcia said. “These text messages transpired on Thursday, November 20, 2025.”
After noting damages to the room’s door, Officer Garcia asked Katherine if they were from today’s incident.
“[Katherine] stated they were not,” Officer Garcia said. “[Katherine] pointed to one particular small hole in the room door, and she explained that it was caused by Ms. Florentino the day after they exchanged text messages (which was Friday, November 21, 2025). The other minor damage was caused by her replacing the door lock.”
Officer Garcia then asked Katherine if there were any other possible people who may have caused the damage to her room.
“[Katherine] stated she has no problems with anyone and does not believe it was anyone from work. [Katherine] has an ex-boyfriend who she ended a relationship with months ago (she did not clarify how long ago) and he had moved to New York,” Officer Garcia said.
According to Katherine, the bleach container was on the floor of the closet and was less than halfway full. She said that despite the remaining amount, there was still enough bleach to pour onto the clothes in her closet.
“[Katherine] recounted that the PlayStation 5 along with its game controllers belonged to [David] and he had brought it to her room on Thursday, November 20, 2025, to play video games with Feldine,” Officer Garcia said. “[Katherine] mentioned that she was unable to secure her room because the lock is not serviceable.”
The officers then went to speak with Florentino, who lives in a room directly across the hall from Katherine.
“Ms. Florentino immediately admitted to me that she entered [Katherine’s] room, Apt [# redacted], and vandalized her property,” Officer Garcia said. Later adding, “Ms. Florentino stated she had taken the PlayStation 5 with its game controllers and placed it behind her television.”
The officers searched for the PlayStation 5, but were unable to locate it.
Officer Garcia then asked Florentino why she caused the damages to Katherine’s room and Florentino was allegedly hesitant to explain her reasoning. Officer Garcia asked Florentino again to explain what happened inside the apartment.
“Florentino stated that while [David] was out enjoying the festivities with [Katherine], she stepped outside of her room,” Officer Garcia said. (Note: Katherine didn’t tell police she was out with David that evening).
When Florentino stepped outside of her room, Officer Garcia said, she noticed that the door to Katherine’s room was slightly ajar.
“Ms. Florentino stated she did not remember how she caused the damages to [Katherine’s] property but is sure she caused it,” Officer Garcia said. “She then took the PlayStation 5 and the game controllers and took them back to her room, Apt [# redacted]. Ms. Florentino states she believes she suffers from postpartum depression since she gave birth to her two-month-old daughter and could not recall her actions during what transpired in [Katherine’s’] room.”
At this time, Officer Garcia said Karen Beltre Florentino was taken into custody on the following charges:
- Breaking & Entering Building Nighttime for Felony
- Vandalize Property
“I explained to Ms. Florentino what she was being arrested for,” Officer Garcia said.
Officer Garcia transported Florentino to the Leominster Police Department for booking.
“After Ms. Florentino’s booking process was completed, I read her Miranda rights in Spanish,” Officer Garcia said. “After her Miranda rights were read, Ms. Florentino agreed to speak with officers.”
Officer Garcia asked Florentino to explain today’s incident, once again.
“Ms. Florentino stated that at approximately 11:00 p.m. through 12:00 a.m., while [David] was out celebrating Thanksgiving with [Katherine] and her family, she felt alone and depressed,” Officer Garcia said.
Florentino said she stepped out of her room, and walked over to Katherine’s room. Noticing that the door to Katherine’s room was slightly ajar, Florentino entered Katherine’s room.
“Ms. Florentino stated that she felt an urge to destroy [Katherine’s] property because she felt depressed and angry,” Officer Garcia said. “Ms. Florentino explained that it felt like she needed to get something off her chest. Ms. Florentino stated that she does not feel she has ‘problems’ with [Katherine]. Ms. Florentino had no further statements for officers.”
Sergeant Ryan Morrell said that following the booking process, Florentino was asked if she would like to contact her consulate regarding her arrest status.
“Ms. Florentino advised that she did not wish to speaking with anyone regarding her arrest,” Sgt. Morrell said. “An email was sent to notify the Dominican Republic consulate regarding her arrest at the Leominster Police Department.”
Florentino was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Nov. 28, 2025. Following her arraignment, she was released on personal recognizance under the condition that she stay away from/not contact the victim.
Florentino’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Jan. 1, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest in this story took place in November, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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