ORANGE — On Friday, March 20, 2026, at approximately 10:33 a.m., Detective Travis Rushford of the Orange Police Department said the Shelburne Control Dispatch Center received a call from Tractor Supply Company located at 83 New Athol Road reporting that an individual had just stolen tools and left in a gray minivan.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Detective Travis Rushford for the incident and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The caller stated the vehicle left heading towards Athol and provided a license plate of [# redacted],” Det. Rushford said, adding that Sergeant Jonathan Cole responded to the Route 202 area, located the vehicle, and attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop.
“The vehicle failed to stop and got onto Route 2 East,” Det. Rushford said. “Sergeant Cole, along with the Massachusetts State Police, and I, pursued the vehicle as it traveled on Route 2 East, where it took Exit 90 into the town of Westminster, continuing on Route 140 toward Ashburnham.”
Detective Rushford said that due to traffic conditions, Massachusetts State Police and Sergeant Cole discontinued their pursuit.
“A short time later, the vehicle was pursued by Ashburnham PD where a tire deflating device was deployed on Route 12,” Det. Rushford said. “The vehicle lost control after and crashed into two parked vehicles.”
One of the vehicle’s occupants, William De Jesus Rodriguez, was taken into custody, while a second occupant, Angel Echevarria Torres, fled on foot and was apprehended a short time later.
“Echevarria Torres was transported to UMass Worcester for evaluation due to the crash while De Jesus Rodriguez was transported back to the Orange Police Department by Sergeant Cole for booking,” Det. Rushford said.
According to police, William Guillermo De Jesus Rodriguez, 36, and Angel Alexis Echevarria Torres, 41, are both residents of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
“Lieutenant Cooley responded to UMass Worcester to take over custody/watch of Echevarria Torres, who was later transported back to the Orange Police Department for booking,” Det. Rushford said.
After he was arrested, Detective Rushford said a state police trooper searched Echevarria Torres and located “a burnt glass pipe consistent with being used to smoke crack-cocaine and also a small, knotted baggie containing a white powdery substance consistent with cocaine.” Detective Rushford said the pipe and bag of suspected cocaine were turned over to Sergeant Cole, who transported the items to the Orange Police Department.
William Guillermo De Jesus Rodriguez, 36, of Fitchburg, was charged with the following:
- Shoplifting by Asportation, 3rd Offense
- Possession of Burglarious Tools (for having wire cutters on his person to cut security spider wrap, according to Detective Rushford)
- Conspiracy
Angel Alexis Echevarria Torres, 41, of Fitchburg, was charged with the following:
- Shoplifting by Asportation, 3rd Offense
- Conspiracy
- Possession of Class B Drug (cocaine)
Detective Rushford said Echevarria Torres also had four active arrest warrants (three from Leominster District Court and one from Fitchburg District Court).
Detective Rushford noted that during the pursuit, he discontinued in the City of Gardner and responded directly to Tractor Supply, where he met with an employee identified as Joash.
“He stated that he observed a subject taking DeWalt power tools from the top shelves of the aisles and placing them into a shopping cart, covering them with what he believed was a trash bag,” Det. Rushford said. “The subject then exited the store without paying, setting off the alarms, and placed all of the items into the minivan before leaving the property.”
Detective Rushford said that at the time, Joash did not have a full inventory of the stolen items but stated the DeWalt tools should still have spider wrap alarms on them as well as Tractor Supply stickers.
Detective Rushford also responded to the scene of the accident and took digital images of the van, which he said appeared to have multiple items inside that, he believed, were stolen from different stores.
“I noted DeWalt tools, Milwaukee tools, and a sewing machine while taking the images,” Det. Rushford said, adding that Ashburnham police told him they would inventory the van and have TJ & Son’s Towing remove it from the scene.
Detective Rushford said that after returning to the station, he consulted with another officer and decided to contact Hamshaw Lumber in Orange’s management to review security camera footage, as he believed some of the Milwaukee tools may have come from that store, noting that Tractor Supply, located nearby, does not carry the Milwaukee brand.
“[The manager] watched his cameras and said he found a male subject stealing multiple Milwaukee tools just after 10:00 a.m. and that he has video footage of the theft along with two males involved. I asked about parking lot cameras, and he said the two came and went in a gray van.” The manager downloaded the videos and uploaded them to a thumb drive, which Detective Rushford picked up from him later.
According to Detective Rushford, surveillance footage showed De Jesus Rodriguez selecting Milwaukee tools, moving them within the store and later bagging them before exiting without paying. While reviewing the footage, Detective Rushford said Echevarria Torres appeared to be acting as a lookout and distracting employees.
Detective Rushford said surveillance footage from the parking lot showed the two men leaving the store in a gray van matching the vehicle involved in the pursuit.
Detective Rushford said he also observed a Singer sewing machine in its original packaging with a Michael’s label inside the van and, knowing there was a Michael’s nearby in Leominster, contacted that store, where a manager told him a similar item had been stolen about a week earlier but had not been reported to police. Detective Rushford said the manager also told him the store’s surveillance footage was too grainy to be of much assistance and that there was no way to determine whether the packaging identified the item as having come from the Leominster location because Michael’s packaging is the same across all stores.
Additional charges were later filed after police determined De Jesus Rodriguez was the driver during the pursuit and crash. Those charges include speeding, failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and operating after suspension.
Echevarria Torres was also charged with operating a motor vehicle while revoked (subsequent offense) after investigators determined he had operated the van as it arrived at and departed from Hamshaw Lumber, according to Detective Rushford.
Echevarria Torres’ bail was set at $5,000 on the new charges, and he was also held without bail on the four outstanding warrants before being transported to the Greenfield House of Correction.
Echevarria Torres’ arraignment was scheduled for the morning of March 23, 2026, in Orange District Court.
De Jesus Rodriguez was booked at the Orange Police Department and later transported to Orange District Court, where he was released to court security for his arraignment which took place on March 20, 2026, the day of his arrest.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in March, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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