WINCHENDON — On Friday, January 16, 2026, at approximately 11:09 p.m., a woman called Winchendon dispatch via 911 to report that her boyfriend was following her while she was driving to her residence on Beech Street.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Alexander Favreau and Sergeant Brandon Lucier and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Winchendon Police Officer Alexander Favreau reported that the reporting party said she was afraid of what her boyfriend, William Pinkham, might do and stated that he had a gun in his truck.
According to police, William Pinkham Jr., 28, is a resident of Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Officers Alexander Favreau and Jim Wironen, along with Sergeant Brandon Lucier, responded to Maple Street to search for Pinkham’s vehicle, which the reporting party described as a red Ford F-150 pickup truck with a black roof.
“While enroute to the area dispatch informed us William was no longer following [the reporting party] and she was heading to the station as she did not feel safe,” Officer Favreau said.
Officer Favreau reported that while he was in the area of Central Street, he observed the reporting party’s vehicle arrive at the Winchendon Police Department headquarters.
“While I was approaching the station, I observed a red Ford F-150 with its lights on parked at the YMCA basketball courts on Summer Street where there is no parking allowed after dark,” Officer Favreau said. “I turned around and when I got closer to the vehicle, the headlights turned off as if he was attempting to hide. I turned on my solid blue
emergency lights and positioned my patrol car in front of the driver’s side door about 20 feet away. I could see a
male party inside with his hands out of sight down below the steering wheel.”
Officer Favreau said Officer Wironen and Sergeant Lucier positioned their cruisers on the opposite side of the suspect’s vehicle.
“Officer Wironen issued commands for the driver to put his hands up and the driver complied,” Officer Favreau said. “I unholstered my service weapon and brought it to a low ready. As the driver was suspected of having a firearm, Officer Wironen issued further commands for the driver to step out of the car, face away from us and kneel on the ground with his hands raised. All commands were obeyed and Sergeant Lucier and I moved in and detained the driver who was identified as William Pinkham Jr. William was handcuffed while we investigated.”
Officer Favreau said that while Officer Wironen was pat frisking Pinkham for weapons, he asked him if he had any firearms on him. Pinkham replied that he did not.
Officer Wironen then asked whether there were any weapons in the truck, and Pinkham said there was a gun inside the vehicle.
“William was placed in the back of patrol car ‘W8,’ and I later demanded his license to carry,” Officer Favreau said. “William said he did not have one and did not know he needed one.”
Officer Favreau then read Pinkham his Miranda rights from a card he carries on his person. Officer Favreau said that after Pinkham stated that he understood his rights, he asked him where the gun was.
“William told me the gun was in an ammo box behind the driver’s seat,” Officer Favreau said. “Sergeant Lucier and I searched the vehicle, and I located a green ammo can on the back seat of the truck right behind the driver’s seat.”
Officer Favreau said he located the following items inside the ammo can: an unloaded black Taurus handgun, two loaded high-capacity magazines, and 546 rounds of ammunition.
“The handgun and storage can did not have any locking devices on them,” Officer Favreau said. “I removed William from my patrol car and put him in patrol car W7 and I went back to Winchendon Police Headquarter in W8 to speak with [the reporting party].”
When Officer Favreau arrived at the station, he met with the reporting party in the lobby and asked her what happened.
The reporting party stated that while she was at Pinkham’s apartment in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, he woke her up after going through her phone and finding some Snapchat messages, then questioned her about them.
“[The reporting party] gathered her things and said she was going to leave for the night, but William stopped her and would not allow her to leave,” Officer Favreau said.
The reporting party said William told her, “I’ll take the tires off your car so you can’t leave,” and then placed his hands on her shoulders and said she had to stay.
“William’s mother returned home at this time and [the reporting party] said she used this distraction to grab her purse and keys and leave,” Officer Favreau said. “When she left, William followed behind her in his truck, and that is when she called the police.”
Officer Favreau said he referred the reporting party to the Jaffrey Police Department because that is where the initial disturbance took place.
“I did advise [the reporting party] of her right to an emergency 209A [abuse prevention order] and she accepted,” Officer Favreau said. Officer Favreau said she completed the required forms, and the order was granted at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 17 by Judge Tiffanie Ellis-Niles.
“I advised [the reporting party] to speak with Jaffrey police regarding the incident as well,” Officer Favreau said. “Sergeant Lucier and Officer Wironen placed William in custody at 11:35 p.m.”
Pinkham was transported to the Winchendon Police Department by Sergeant Lucier for booking.
William Pinkham Jr., 28, of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, was arrested and charged with the following:
- Firearm, Carry without License
- Possess Large Capacity Feeding Device (two counts)
- Possess Ammunition without FID Card
According to Sergeant Lucier, after he was booked, Pinkham was placed in a holding cell at approximately 11:53 p.m.
“It should be noted William claimed he was following [the reporting party] for her safety because she had made suicidal statements,” Sgt. Lucier said. “Officer Favreau confirmed there was no domestic incident that occurred in Winchendon. [The reporting party] was referred to the Jaffrey, NH police for the incident, which occurred in their community. [She] was offered an emergency restraining order, which was granted at approximately 12:00 a.m. I served William while he was in our custody at approximately 12:15 a.m.”
Sergeant Lucier said Bail Commissioner Marianne Kissane was contacted, bail was set at $500, and Pinkham was released from custody at approximately 1:35 a.m.
Pinkham was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Jan. 20, 2026. During his arraignment, the Commonwealth filed a motion to detain Pinkham for dangerousness. Following a dangerousness hearing held at the same proceeding, Judge Jaclyn Greenhalgh found Pinkham dangerous, but instead of detaining him, she released him on the following conditions: that the previously posted $500 bail remain in place, that he commit no federal, state, or local crimes, that he stay away from and not contact the reporting party, and that he possess no firearms.
Pinkham’s next court appearance in Gardner District Court is a pretrial hearing scheduled for March 3, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in January, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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