Fitchburg man with spiked-bat, drugs arrested in Leominster after 911 report of impaired driver

LEOMINSTER — On the evening of Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Officer Braden Carlson was dispatched to the area of Monument Square following a report of an impaired driver.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Braden Carlson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“Dispatch advised me that the reporting party, [name redacted], stated he had seen the man with a needle in his arm in Fitchburg,” Officer Carlson said. “[The reporting party] then followed him while on the phone with 911. The man then entered the Leominster jurisdiction. Dispatch still had the caller on the phone and he advised dispatch the man had left his lane multiple times and drove into oncoming traffic.”

Officer Carlson said the reporting party described the vehicle as a gray Chevy with Massachusetts plates.

“Upon arrival to Monument Square, I noticed the vehicle in question at the lights about to continue onto Mechanic Street,” Officer Carlson said. “Dispatch also advised me the caller could see me. I turned my patrol vehicle around and positioned myself behind the Chevy.”

The vehicle then continued down Mechanic Street, in front of Brady’s Restaurant at 37 Mechanic Street, Officer Carlson said.

“I observed the vehicle cross the center yellow line multiple times. I then activated my emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle,” Officer Carlson said. “The vehicle came to a complete stop at the intersection of Mechanic Street and Spruce Street. I then radioed to dispatch that I would be out with the vehicle. At this time, Officer [Robert] Connors said he was en route to my location as backup. I then went to speak with the operator, I was able to identify him as Luis Rodriguez Rosado.”

According to police, Luis F. Rodriguez Rosado, 49, is a resident of Fitchburg, MA.

Officer Carlson asked Rosado for his license and registration, which he provided.

“I asked Mr. Rosado what was going on with his driving, and he told me nothing and that he was fine,” Officer Carlson said. “I then asked Mr. Rosado why we had received a report from a witness that he had a needle in his arm prior to operating the motor vehicle. Mr. Rosado then told me that he is a diabetic.”

Officer Carlson then asked Rosado if he had any insulin in the vehicle, and Rosado said he did not.

“I then asked him if he had any needles in the vehicle and he again told me he did not. I then asked Mr. Rosado if there was any drugs in the vehicle and he told me there was not and that he is a recovering addict,” Officer Carlson said. “I then asked Mr. Rosado why we would receive a report from an independent witness that he had a needle in his arm.”

Officer Carlson said Rosado became visibly annoyed by the question and asked if he could get out of the vehicle so Officer Carlson could check the car.

“At this time, two workers from Leominster Taxi walked up to the scene,” Officer Carlson said. “I then asked Mr. Rosado if he was giving me permission to search the vehicle and he stated yes. I then asked Mr. Rosado to exit the vehicle and stand in front of my cruiser with Officer Connors.”

Officer Carlson returned to his cruiser to retrieve a pair of latex gloves. While doing so, he said dispatch advised him that Rosado had two active arrest warrants out of Fitchburg.

“At this time, Officer Connors and I informed Mr. Rosado he was being placed under arrest for having two active warrants,” Officer Carlson said. “Officer Connors then handcuffed Mr. Rosado and led him to his cruiser. We then performed a search incident to arrest and found nothing on Mr. Rosado aside from some cash.”

Officer Carlson said he counted the cash in front of Rosado and told him it would be returned to him after booking to keep on his person.

Rosado was then placed in the back of a cruiser.

“I then began a search of the motor vehicle that Mr. Rosado was operating,” Officer Carlson said. “I began by searching the driver’s seat. I immediately found a baggie that had a knot at the end and had been cut. This is typical for storing narcotics.”

Officer Carlson then went to speak with Rosado.

“Prior to speaking with him, Officer Connors read him his Miranda rights off a card he carries in his pocket,” Officer Carlson explained. “Mr. Rosado stated he understood his rights and said he would speak with us. I asked Mr. Rosado why there was a cut baggie on top of his cellphone in the cup holder and he told me he did not know.”

Officer Carlson said he then returned to the vehicle to continue his search.

“I began searching the front passenger seat, where I found a small baggie that had been tied at the end that contained a white powdery substance,” Officer Carlson said. “I found this baggie underneath the passenger seat close to the center console.”

Officer Carlson said he then went to speak with Rosado about this baggie.

“I told Mr. Rosado if he informed me what the narcotics were that I would not charge him with the weapons,” Officer Carlson said. “He informed me he had recently picked up a passenger and did not know what it was.”

After Officer Carlson told Rosado that he would be charging him with everything, Rosado stated, “It’s probably dope.”

“I asked him if it was fentanyl or heroin,” Officer Carlson said. “He stated he did not know, but that it was ‘probably fentanyl or heroin.'”

Officer Carlson said he continued to search the passenger compartments of the vehicle and found nothing else.

“It is important to note there were many places in the vehicle where the paneling had been pulled back. I then moved to search the trunk,” Officer Carlson said. “While searching the trunk, I found two methadone bottles, one of which had no label on it and had not been opened. I then found a large bat that had mace-style spikes on the end of it.”

Officer Carlson said he also found a military-style backpack.

“I opened this backpack and found a small scale. In the large compartment of the bag I then proceeded to find six other knives, as well as a small hatchet,” Officer Carlson said. “All of these weapons were collected as evidence. As well as the aforementioned narcotics and baggie. I then went to speak with the reporting party, who had stayed on scene to speak with us. [The reporting party] informed me that he is law enforcement.”

Officer Carlson said he had the reporting party fill out a voluntary statement form.

“Following this, I went to speak with the owner of the Chevy, Tammy [last name redacted],” Officer Carlson said. “She stated that Mr. Rosado solely drives that vehicle and he has been in possession of the vehicle since February. She stated nobody else drives the vehicle but him. I asked her if, to her knowledge, he uses drugs. She told me she knows he is on methadone, but that is it.”

Tammy later filled out a voluntary statement form with Officer Connors.

“I informed her that due to the torn paneling and possible hiding spots for narcotics, we were requesting a K9 officer from Fitchburg to come out,” Officer Carlson said. “She then informed me to tear the car apart if we needed to. She also stated that vehicle would not be going back into rotation anyways.”

After this, Officer Carlson said he moved Rosado into the back of his cruiser so he could transport him to the Leominster Police Department for booking.

“I left Officer Connors on scene with the vehicle because he has training in drug hides,” Officer Carlson said. “I collected all evidence as well as a small satchel containing Mr. Rosado’s phone, his insulin tester, and two bottles of medication.”

When Officer Carlson returned to the station he said that he recovered another large pocket knife in the satchel while he was logging Rosado’s property.

“The small bag of suspected narcotics will be sent to the state lab for testing to determine what it is,” Officer Carlson said. “I believe it is fentanyl based on Mr. Rosado’s statements and my training. I was informed later, by Officer Connors, that the K9 did not hit on the vehicle. The vehicle was then released to the owner, Tammy [last name redacted]. I will be filing an immediate threat on Mr. Rosado’s license.”

Rosado was arraigned in Leominster District Court on April 15, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on $2,000 cash bail. His next court date was a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 13, 2026.

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in April, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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