Ware man arrested for threatening two women with gun, warning of “blood bath” during cocaine binge

WARE — On Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at approximately 10:44 p.m., Ware Police Officer Daniel Clark received a call on the Ware Police Department’s business line from a woman, who, whispering over the line, said she had locked herself in the bathroom because a man in the living room had a gun and had threatened to kill her before pistol-whipping himself in the head.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts in Support of Criminal Complaint written by Officer Eric Esteves and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

Officer Eric Esteves stated that the reporting party said she was located in an apartment at Hillside Village, and that he, Officer Jacob Mansfield, and Sergeant Aaron DeSantis responded to the scene while the Western Regional Dispatch Center called for mutual aid.

“Officer Mansfield, Sergeant DeSantis and I were the first responding units who arrived,” Officer Esteves said.

The officers then approached the apartment with their firearms drawn and held at the low ready. When they arrived at the apartment, Officer Esteves said the door was ajar and propped open.

“Officer Mansfield took the left side of the doorway while I took the right side of the doorway. Sergeant DeSantis took the common hallway with the long gun,” Officer Esteves said. “Officer Mansfield knocked on the door announcing police presence. As a female party came to the door, officers had their firearms drawn on the occupants as they were called out into the hallway and detained.”

The first person to come to the door was the reporting party.

“We had [the reporting party] sit down on the floor while officers continued to call out all other occupants,” Officer Esteves explained.

The second person to come to the door was Angel Echevarria, who officers identified as the individual reported to be in possession of the firearm.

According to police, Angel Echevarria, 46, is a resident of Ware, MA. Court documents indicate Echevarria is single and works for Door Dash.

“Angel also had a gash on his forehead which would be consistent with the report of him pistol-whipping himself,” Officer Esteves said.

The officers told Echevarria to show his hands as he came to the door.

Officer Esteves reported that Echevarria came into the hallway with his hands up, and that he detained him in handcuffs while the other officers continued calling occupants out of the apartment.

“The last occupant of the apartment that came out to the hallway was Melissa [last name redacted],” Officer Esteves said. “Melissa was sat down in the hallway along with [the reporting party] while I held Angel, who was in handcuffs. While I watched all three parties, Officer Mansfield and Sergeant DeSantis then conducted a safety sweep of the apartment.”

Officer Esteves said that once the apartment was cleared, Sergeant DeSantis instructed him to take Echevarria back inside and seat him on the couch while the other officers conducted the investigation.

Officer Esteves reported that at this time, Officer Clark, Massachusetts State Police troopers, and officers from the Hardwick and West Brookfield police departments arrived on scene to assist.

“The aiding departments helped interview the involved parties who were in the hallway while Ware officers started searching for a firearm in the apartment. (I remained with Angel, who was on the couch),” Officer Esteves said. “While Angel was sitting on the couch, he started talking about the incident. I then stopped Angel and read him his Miranda rights and asked him if he would like a lawyer. Angel, at the time, waived his rights and agreed to speak with me. Angel stated that there was no gun involved and whoever called the police misunderstood what was heard. Angel stated that he was talking about his girlfriend Melissa’s gun, which was locked in its safe.”

At this time, Sergeant DeSantis approached Officer Esteves and advised him of the information Officer Clark had gathered from Melissa.

According to Officer Esteves, Melissa told Officer Clark that Echevarria had a silver prop gun in the apartment that resembled a real firearm but does not fire.

“Sergeant DeSantis then asked Angel about this silver prop gun,” Officer Esteves said. “Angel stated that he used to carry it, but he got rid of it a long time ago.”

When Sergeant DeSantis asked Echevarria why Melissa had said he possessed the gun in the apartment that night, Echevarria replied stating that she was angry following their argument and had lied to get him in trouble.

“At this time, Officer Clark found crack cocaine that was in Angel’s bedroom in plain view on his bed,” Officer Esteves said.

Officer Esteves said that when Sergeant DeSantis asked Echevarria about the crack cocaine on his bed, Echevarria admitted that he “had a problem as he uses it often.”

“Due to the circumstances that took place, I then placed Angel under arrest for possession of crack cocaine and escorted him out of the apartment and into the cruiser,” Officer Esteves said. “I then transported Angel back to the station while all other officers remained on scene for further investigation.”

Once back at the station, Echevarria was booked.

At this time, Sergeant DeSantis, Officer Clark, and Officer Mansfield remained on scene and located two firearms, one identified as Melissa’s M&P .380 caliber firearm and the other the silver prop gun hidden in a laundry basket beneath clothing.

“This prop gun was fully metal, which was a real gun, but the slide was not operational. In that prop gun was a loaded magazine with what appeared to be bullets in the magazine,” Officer Esteves said. “The bullets were not live as the primers had already been used. Officer Mansfield documented these firearms on his body worn camera as evidence.”

Sergeant DeSantis than began speaking with the reporting party.

“Sergeant DeSantis asked [the reporting party] what took place that led her to calling the police. As [she] was trying to speak, she was hyperventilating and crying due to the fear that she was put into,” Officer Esteves said. “It took [her] several breaths to talk. [The reporting party] stated that Angel started arguing with Melissa over trying to tattoo each other in the apartment. Following this, [the reporting party] stated that Angel pulled a gun out on both her and Melissa, pointing it at them.”

When Sgt. DeSantis asked the reporting party where the gun came from, she said Echevarria had pulled it from his waistband, where she said he carried it every day.

“[The reporting party] then stated that Angel has been awake for days due to using crack cocaine and has been acting crazy,” Officer Esteves said.

The reporting party then told Sergeant DeSantis that she and Melissa had told Echevarria they were going into the bedroom to go to sleep.

“At this time, Angel again points the gun at both of them and yells ‘Don’t you f*cking ignore me,'” Officer Esteves said. “[The reporting party] further stated that Angel said ‘I dare you to call 911, because by the time they get here, it’s going to be a f*cking blood bath.’ At this time, [the reporting party] then said that Melissa told her to go into the bathroom and call 911.”

At this time, Officer Clark came into the hallway and told Sergeant DeSantis that he found the gun.

“Officer Clark asked [the reporting party] what color the gun was, [she] said it was silver,” Officer Esteves said. “Officer Clark clarified and asked [the reporting party] if she saw the gun, [she] said ‘yes, he pointed the gun in my face.'”

According to Officer Esteves, the reporting party said that before going into the bathroom to call 911, she picked up a pair of scissors in self-defense because she feared for her life.

“[The reporting party] also stated that Angel has multiple guns but does not know where he keeps them,” Officer Esteves said. “It should be known that [the reporting party] had no idea that the silver gun was a prop gun.”

After speaking with the reporting party, Sergeant DeSantis then went to speak with Melissa.

Sergeant DeSantis asked Melissa which gun Echevarria had, her black firearm or the silver prop gun.

“It should be known that Melissa’s statement was not clear and concise as she was providing information that was not in chronological order from the events that took place,” Officer Esteves said. “Melissa stated that the black gun was registered to her and that [the reporting party] took it out of the safe and placed it on her bed. Melissa quickly grabbed her gun and hid it away from him while he was acting crazy. It was unclear if this occurred before or after he pointed the silver prop gun at both her and [the reporting party].”

Sergeant DeSantis then asked Melissa what transpired before the incident took place.

“Melissa stated that she had [the reporting party] over for a tattoo and stated that Angel started to get Irate, thinking both women were conspiring against him,” Officer Esteves said. “Melissa then stated that she was hiding under the covers. Sergeant DeSantis attempted to gather concise information, but later determined that Melissa didn’t really know the order of what took place.”

Sergeant DeSantis asked Melissa whether she had seen Echevarria with a silver gun at any point that evening.

“Melissa stated that he always has it and had it tonight,” Officer Esteves said. “Once the investigation was complete, all officers cleared the scene and returned to the station, where the firearms and crack cocaine were processed into evidence.”

Officer Esteves said that after the evidence was processed and logged, Officer Mansfield contacted the bail clerk, who set Echevarria’s bail at $5,000 cash in addition to a six-hour hold.

“Sergeant DeSantis contacted DVIP [Division of Violence and Injury Prevention] and filed a report,” Officer Esteves said. “[The reporting party] came to the station and filled out a witness statement. Both [the reporting party] and Melissa declined their 209A [abuse prevention order] rights at this time.”

Echevarria was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Feb. 20, 2026. Following his arraignment, Echevarria was held pending a dangerousness hearing at the request of the Commonwealth, which was scheduled for Feb. 25, 2026.

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