Two masked men arrested after workplace dispute leads to vandalism at Leominster Market Basket

LEOMINSTER — On Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, at approximately 10:14 a.m. Leominster Police Officers Tanner Jakola and Caulin Salvi were dispatched to Market Basket at 71 Sack Boulevard following a report that the tires of a vehicle had been slashed in the parking lot.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officers Tanner Jakola and Caulin Salvi and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“The suspects were reported to be two masked male parties who were carrying knives,” Officer Jakola said.

Officer Jakola said that while en route, he was advised by dispatch that the victim, a 34-year-old Market Basket employee named Oskar, said he believed this had to do with a work feud he had with a man named Damian Troche.

Officer Jakola reported that, after he arrived on scene at approximately 10:18 a.m., dispatch received another 911 call reporting that two masked males—one wearing dark gray/black clothing and the other wearing dark green—had fled the Market Basket parking lot and run into the mall.

Officer Salvi responded to the area to search for the men.                   

Officer Jakola said that, through a Spanish translator who also worked for Market Basket, he spoke with Oskar, who stated that while taking a break from work, he was walking to his car which was parked on the right side of the building near Entertainment Cinemas, when he noticed two masked males walking behind him.

“Oskar got into his vehicle and noticed the two parties standing near his car. He looked into his rear-view mirror and saw one of the males took out what Oskar believed to be a knife and dropped it on the ground. Oskar then backed out and drove away, towards Entertainment Cinemas,” Officer Jakola said. “A truck pulled out in front of Oskar so he had to stop. When he stopped, one of the male parties broke his back windshield. The two parties ran away, and Oskar parked his vehicle in the Market Basket lot, nearest to the mall parking lot where Panera Bread is located. Oskar then went inside and told his manager what had happened.”

“Oskar believed that the male in the green smashed his back windshield but was unsure,” Officer Jakola recounted. “While speaking with Oskar, he stated he believed Damien [last name redacted] had something to do with this. According to Oskar, Damien was fired about a week ago and blamed Oskar for it. Damien texted Oskar’s wife…on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, stating that Oskar was to blame for his firing and that ‘You’ll know who I am.’ Oskar stated that Damien would often tell him that he would hurt Oskar and his family.”

At this time, Officer Jakola heard Officer Salvi announce over the radio that he was with the two suspects near Gardner Outlet Furniture across the street at The Whitney Field Mall.

Officer Salvi’s apprehension of the suspects at Whitney Field Mall

When Officer Salvi arrived in the area, he said he passed the PetSmart on Commercial Road and approached the former entrance of Sears at the Whitney Field Mall.

“I approached the former entrance to the Sears store on this side without blue lights, and drove towards Gardner Outlet Furniture, I observed two male figures, one wearing a black and gray hooded jacket, and one wearing a forest green hoodie,” Officer Salvi said. “I drove up to these two figures. As I stepped out of my cruiser, I saw both figures sprint into the outlet store. I ran back to my cruiser, requested immediate backup, and drove to the other side of the outlet store, activating my blue lights.”

Officer Salvi said as he turned in front of the Launch Family Entertainment building, the same two individuals were standing in front of the entrance of Gardner Outlet Furniture.

“The two male parties were later identified as [a 17-year-old male juvenile] (the black and gray) and Dylan Richard (the green sweatshirt),” Officer Salvi said.

According to police, Dylan Richard, 22, is a resident of Leominster, MA. The other suspect is a 17-year-old juvenile male, whose name has been withheld from publication.

“Due to the original dispatch and call response involving a knife, physical damage reportedly done by the individual with a knife, and the two parties matching the description of the suspected fleeing suspects I considered the situation to be very dangerous,” Officer Salvi said. “I drew my duty weapon, and held it at my chest pointed at the ground. I issued immediate commands to the two males, Dylan complied and upon my order, placed his hands high on the wall in front of me. [The juvenile] did not immediately comply with my order to place his hands on the wall, he continued to face me and kept his hands low at his belt line.”

Officer Salvi reported that the juvenile suspect then stated he had a knife on his person and continued to refuse commands to place his hands on the wall.

“I had ordered [the 17-year-old juvenile] to keep his hands out of his pockets, then ordered him to lay down on the ground. When ordered to lay down [the juvenile suspect] complied. I directed [the juvenile] to place his hands out and to his side, then warned Dylan that if he moved, he could be shot,” Officer Salvi said. “With both parties now appearing to be complying with me I holstered my weapon, and placed [the juvenile suspect] in handcuffs, double locked them and sat him up. [The 17-year-old juvenile] was now being cooperative, I removed the pocket knife from his left jeans pocket. With [the juvenile] disarmed and secured I was able to handcuff Dylan and sat him down sitting against the wall.”

At this time, Officer Christian Schwartz, Sergeant Elvin Vazquez, and Officer Carlos Cintron then arrived on scene to assist, while Officer Jakola was at Market Basket obtaining witness information and speaking with the victim of the alleged vandalism.

“I advised dispatch of the identities of the two individuals I had detained,” Officer Salvi said. Dispatch informed him that Richard had a warrant out for his arrest for vandalism and shoplifting.

“Dylan was advised of his warrant and that he was getting arrested,” Officer Salvi said. “A small satchel bag was lying in the open, and I asked who it belonged to [the juvenile suspect] claimed ownership of the bag and gave me permission to check it. When I lifted the bag from the ground a black face mask was under the bag, and I knew that the original 911 call had identified one of the vandals as having been wearing a face covering. This face mask was confirmed to be [the juvenile suspect’s] property.”

Officer Jakola conducts a showup at the mall

Officer Jakola then transported Oskar and the Market Basket employee who served as his translator to Officer Salvi’s location to conduct a showup.

According to Nolo.com (a legal encyclopedia) a “showup” is a form of eyewitness identification, akin to a lineup. However, at a showup, a witness or victim is normally confronted with only one person rather than a group of people. Showups may occur in the field, whereas lineups usually take place at a police station.

“I put both Oskar and [his translator] in the back of my cruiser and started to drive to Officer Salvi’s location,” Officer Jakola said. “We drove by Oskar’s vehicle (2015 Honda CRV bearing MA PC [# redacted]). The back windshield was smashed out, and the four tires were slashed.”

Officer Jakola said that, as they drove by his vehicle, Oskar “had no clue” that his tires had been slashed and said it must have happened after he parked his vehicle to go in and tell the manager what had happened.

“I went to Ofc. Salvi’s location and drove past the two suspects, who matched the description Oskar had given, and stopped. Oskar stated he was certain the male nearest the cruiser, later identified as [the 17-year-old male juvenile suspect], was involved. Oskar could not tell me for certain if the male in the green sweatshirt, Dylan Richard, was involved,” Officer Jakola said. Adding, “[The juvenile suspect] was wearing a dark jacket and jeans. Dylan was wearing a green sweatshirt and blue sweatpants. Ofc. Salvi informed me that [the juvenile] had a pocketknife and a black mask on his person. I had Officer Salvi stand by with Oskar while I spoke with the two suspects.”

Officer Jakola said he read the juvenile his Miranda rights from a card he carries on his person.

“[The juvenile] wished to speak with me,” Officer Jakola said. “I brought him out of earshot of Dylan. [The juvenile suspect] stated the following: He and Dylan were near the Home Depot and walked toward the mall. They heard the police sirens and decided to run. I asked [the juvenile] if he knew who Damian Troche was. He stated he did not. [The juvenile] was informed he was under arrest for vandalism.”

At this time, Officer Salvi brought the 17-year-old juvenile back to the station for booking.

“Dylan declined to speak with me,” Officer Jakola said. “Dylan had an active warrant and was brought back to the station for booking by Officer Schwartz.”

Officer Jakola reviews mall security footage

Officer Jakola then met with a security officer at The Whitney Field Mall who showed him surveillance footage of the incident.

“Mall security Caitlin Evans was able to pull up video. The video is taken from near Panera Bread and faces out towards the Market Basket parking lot where Oskar’s vehicle was parked,” Officer Jakola said. “The video shows the following: Two parties are standing near Oskar’s vehicle. The camera footage is pixelated but it shows a party with a hood on going near Oskar’s vehicle. The other party stands by and it looks like he is serving as a lookout. The parties are around the vehicle for about two minutes and then run away towards the mall. It is assumed the parties run due to hearing police sirens. When the parties get closer, I am able to identify them as Dylan and [the juvenile suspect].”

Officer Jakola said that, in the surveillance footage, Richard and Mincey then run into the mall using the “Blue” entrance which is near Panera Bread. They then run through the mall and into the interior entrance of Gardner Outlet Furniture.

“Due to video footage, both will be charged with vandalism,” Officer Jakola said.

Officer Jakola contacts Troche

Officer Jakola said Oskar also sent him the Facebook message that Damian sent to his wife.

At 1:15 p.m., Officer Jakola said he called Troche on a recorded line with a phone number Oskar had given him.

“A male party answered. When I identified myself as a police officer, the phone disconnected,” Officer Jakola said. “I called back and was sent straight to voicemail.”

Officer Jakola left a voicemail advising Troche to call him back if he wanted to speak with him about the incident.

“Damian called me back moments later and stated the following: He got a call from his friend Dylan Richard around 7:00 a.m. today. Dylan told Damian he was going to do something to Oskar because of what Oskar did to Damian,” Officer Jakolas said. “Damian denied telling Richard to go down to Market Basket.”

Officer said that when he asked Troche about what he meant when he texted Oskar’s wife, he gave him “a non-sensical answer.”

“I advised Damian not to reach out to Oskar or his family and if he did, he would be arrested for witness intimidation,” Officer Jakola said.

Charges and court proceedings

Officer Jakola informed Troche he would be summoned to court on a charge of threat to commit a crime.

“With this information, I spoke with Dylan in his holding cell,” Officer Jakola said. “I advised Dylan of what Damian said and asked if he wanted to talk to me now. Dylan stated he did now. Dylan was asked if he was read his Miranda warnings. He said he was. Dylan then stated the following: Damian told him about what Oskar had done. Damian told Dylan to go down to Market Basket and do what he had to do. Dylan did not specify what Damian told him to do. I asked Dylan what he intended to do. Dylan stated he was just going to ask Oskar to step off the property, then Oskar got in his car and they chased Oskar. Dylan advised [the juvenile suspect] smashed out the back windshield and Dylan slashed the tires.”

“Oskar was advised about his right to a Harassment Prevention Order,” Officer Jakola said.

Richard was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Nov. 19, 2025. Following his arraignment, Richard was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the Leominster Market Basket and Oskar.

Richard’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025.

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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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