LEOMINSTER — On Monday, June 8, 2026, Officer Jonathan Benoit of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to Cutie Patuties, a consignment store located at 1021 Central Street, following a report that a customer was being rude and refusing to leave.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Jonathan Benoit and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Benoit said that when he arrived on scene, he spoke with the manager.
“She stated that James Noonan was a customer,” Officer Benoit said. “He was being rude, saying that he was not going to leave because he had rights, even though he was suing the company, and that he would continue to do business with them. She provided me with some money and a receipt, which I provided to Officer [Caulin] Salvi to hold onto as I gathered her information.”
According to police, James T. Noonan, 78, is a resident of Littleton, MA.
“She stated she wanted to trespass Mr. Noonan and would make arrangements in the future to have him come back and get his property, some of which was located at another warehouse,” Officer Benoit said. “[The manager] went with me to the back of the store, where we encountered Mr. Noonan. He dramatically addressed the fact that two officers were dispatched and, to ease the tension, I joked ‘Oh yeah, two cops for everything now a-days.’ I had [the manager] address him, and she trespassed him indefinitely.”
Officer Benoit said he clarified what the trespass meant to Noonan, explaining that he had to leave the property, could not return without an invitation, and could be arrested if he remained.
“He began to exclaim he had civil liberties to which I reminded him I’d arrest him if he didn’t leave,” Officer Benoit said.
Noonan then slapped his wrists together hard in front of himself, extended his arms toward Officer Benoit and Officer Salvi, and said, “Arrest me then.”
“I grabbed one wrist and took my handcuffs out. Wishing to give him another opportunity to leave on his own accord, I paused while holding his wrist and tried to ask if he really wouldn’t leave without being arrested,” Officer Benoit said. “He continued to raise his voice and talk over me. I then raised my voice to get him to hear me and asked once more. He again wanted to be arrested rather than leave the store. He was taken into custody.”
As Noonan’s arms were brought behind his back, Officer Benoit said he applied one handcuff.
“He then began to pull away from Officer Salvi and I,” Officer Benoit said. “I warned him multiple times not to resist and to give me his hand while officers held his arms in place behind his back. After a few orders and after waiting a few moments, he eventually complied without any other forms of coercion needed.”
Officer Benoit said he then checked the handcuffs for tightness and double locked them.
“I brought him out to my cruiser after conducting a search of his person,” Officer Benoit said. “In the cruiser, after sitting down, he complained about the handcuffs hurting him and the tightness of them. I told him to step out so I could verify again they were attached properly. He refused stating, ‘Let’s just go.’”
Officer Benoit said Noonan was booked quickly after they returned to the station. He was later transported to court without incident.
James Noonan, 78, of Littleton, was charged with the following:
- Trespass
Noonan was arraigned in Leominster District Court on June 8, 2026. During his arraignment, Judge Mark Noonan decriminalized the trespassing charge and found him responsible. The case was then filed.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in June, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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