GARDNER — On Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at approximately 9:44 a.m., Officer Russell Counts of the Gardner Police Department was dispatched to the Hannaford supermarket at 21 Timpany Boulevard following a report of a shoplifting incident in progress.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Russell Counts and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Upon arrival, I made contact with the loss prevention officer in the office, regarding a male, later identified as Gerald Fields, who was being cooperative,” Officer Counts said.
According to police, Gerald D. Fields, 60, is a resident of Gardner, MA.
Officer Counts said the loss prevention officer told him that Fields brought several items to the register to checkout but only paid for some of them.
“Fields paid for several bananas, a Mountain Dew, and a Snickers candy bar,” Officer Counts said. “The loss prevention officer advised Fields concealed a large round roast, two packages of Drumstik ice cream cones, and Lysol disinfectant wipes in a cooler he brought inside.”
The loss prevention officer said Fields then passed all points of sale and exited the store with the unpaid merchandise.
“The loss prevention officer made contact with Fields and escorted him to the loss prevention office,” Officer Counts said.
The total value of the shoplifted merchandise was valued at $61.19.
“I advised Fields he was under arrest for shoplifting,” Officer Counts said. “I placed handcuffs on him, which were double locked and checked for proper spacing, and placed him in the rear of my patrol vehicle. Fields was then transported to the Gardner Police Department for processing. Once processing was completed, Fields was transported to the Gardner Courthouse without incident.”
The stolen merchandise was returned to the loss prevention officer, Officer Counts added.
Gerald Fields, 60, of Gardner, was charged with:
- Shoplifting by Asportation
Fields was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Dec. 18, 2025, where Judge Timothy Hillman decriminalized the shoplifting charge and dismissed the case.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest in this story took place in December, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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