LEOMINSTER — On Sunday, July 5, 2026, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Leominster Police Officers Kyle Abazorius and William Taylor responded to the intersection of Hamilton and River streets following a report of a man asleep at the wheel of a black sedan.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Kyle Abazorius and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Abazorius said that, while driving on River Street, he observed a gray Volkswagen Jetta parked on the left side of the one-way road, blocking the travel lane with its left turn signal activated.
“I would like to note that the location of the motor vehicle created a traffic hazard, as passing cars had to maneuver around the vehicle to continue traveling through River Street,” Officer Abazorius said.
Officer Abazorius said that, as he slowly drove past the vehicle in his cruiser, he observed the operator passed out behind the wheel, slumped to the right over the center console with his head hanging down.
“I would like to note that the operator was the only occupant of the motor vehicle. I then pulled my cruiser out of the way into a paved area across from 50 River Street,” Officer Abazorius said. “As I approached the driver’s side door and made contact with the operator, I observed the motor vehicle’s engine to be on and the keys to be in the ignition. The manual transmission was in neutral and the e-brake was applied. The operator quickly woke up and was originally disoriented.”
Officer Abazorius said he requested the operator’s license and identified him as Josh Vaillant, the vehicle’s registered owner.
According to police, John P. Vaillant, 61, is a resident of Leominster, MA.
“While speaking with John, I observed him to have glassy eyes and constricted pinpoint pupils, which is consistent with opioid use per my training and experience,” Officer Abazorius said, adding that Vaillant appeared lethargic during the investigation.
“I observed a sealed bottle of Bud Light on the passenger-side floor,” Officer Abazorius said. “I then asked John how much he had to drink today, to which he stated that he only drank half of a bottle of beer.”
Officer Abazorius said he then asked Vaillant to step out of the vehicle so he could assess his sobriety. Vaillant complied but was immediately unsteady on his feet, according to Officer Abazorius.
“Officer Taylor then asked John if he could stand up without leaning or assistance from the motor vehicle,” Officer Abazorius said. Adding, “John then stepped away from the vehicle and was unable to stand still and continued to sway and reposition his feet.”
Officer Abazorius said he then asked Vaillant if he would submit to field sobriety tests, and Vaillant replied that the tests were too difficult and that he would prefer to take a breathalyzer test.
“I then radioed dispatch if there was an officer available to bring the preliminary breath test (PBT) device to the scene. While waiting for Officer [Christian] Edge to bring the PBT device, I asked John if he took any drugs today, to which he stated he took a ‘beta blocker,’ but did not have the prescription on hand. John also had slurred speech while speaking with me, which made it very difficult to understand what prescription medication he used regularly.”
Officer Abazorius said he asked Vaillant if there were any labels on the prescriptions that stated not to operate heavy machinery, and Vaillant said that none contained such a warning.
“As my investigation continued, John started to reach into his pockets and around his pockets,”
Officer AbaZorius said. “Officer Taylor told John to keep his hands away from his pockets and advised him that he would be pat frisked for weapons. John then quickly and aggressively reached towards his pockets, where Ofc. Taylor immediately grabbed his right arm, and I immediately grabbed his left arm. I then pulled out my handcuffs, handcuffed John, checked for proper fit, then double locked them.”
Officer Abazorius said that, after Vaillant was handcuffed, he conducted a pat frisk for weapons and removed two lighters and a set of keys from his pockets. During the search, Vaillant “appeared to get nervous with stuttered speech and apparent sweating from his face,” Officer Abazorius added.
Shortly after, Officer Edge arrived with the PBT device.
“Prior to the use of the PBT device, I read John his Miranda warnings,” Officer Abazorius said.
Officer Abazorius said Vaillant still agreed to use the PBT and that both attempts produced ‘No Alcohol’ readings, which he said ruled out alcohol as the primary cause of Vaillant’s behavior.
“Due to finding John unconscious at the wheel, with glassy eyes, heavily constricted pupils, appearing lethargic, being unsteady on his feet, and with the PBT showing ‘No Alcohol,’ I formed the opinion that John was under the influence of a controlled substance, more specifically an opioid,” Officer Abazorius said. “I then explained to John that he was under arrest for OUI Drugs and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. While explaining this, Officer Taylor began a motor vehicle inventory prior to the eventual tow. Within a minute of beginning the motor vehicle inventory, Officer Taylor alerted me that he had found a long glass pipe with dark brown burn marks throughout, which is consistent with drug paraphernalia used to smoke crack-cocaine or methamphetamine per my training and experience.”
Officer Abazorius said he then looked into the vehicle and found the pipe that Officer Taylor was referring to in the cupholder between the front seats.
“Next to the pipe, I observed a small clear corner cut plastic bag that Officer Taylor also mentioned, which contained a white powdery rock-like substance that is consistent with crack-cocaine,” Officer Abazorious said. “I then checked the compartment inside the arm rest of the motor vehicle, where I found two more long glass pipes consistent with the first one that Officer Taylor found.”
Officer Abazorius then placed the plastic bag containing the suspected crack cocaine and the three long pipes into evidence bags.
Officer Abazorius then transported Vaillant to the Leominster Police Department for booking, while Officer Taylor remained on scene to conduct a more thorough motor vehicle inventory and wait for the tow.
“After the booking process was complete, Officer Taylor advised me that he found more evidence in the motor vehicle during the inventory,” Officer Abazorius said. “Officer Taylor then showed me two long thin metal rods commonly referred to as packing tools. Based on my training and experience, those tools are commonly used to crush up and pack illegal drugs into pipes for smoking illegal drugs such as crack-cocaine and methamphetamine.”
Officer Abazorius said that, while he was at the station packaging the evidence, Officer Kyle Klimowicz used a MobileDetect Multi-Drug Test Kit to test the suspected substances found in the vehicle.
“The drug test came back with a positive reading for fentanyl,” Officer Abazorius said. “Based on my training and experience, fentanyl is often used as a cutting agent and is frequently mixed with other common street level drugs such as methamphetamine and crack-cocaine. The suspected fentanyl weighed 3.0 grams according to the department scale used in the evidence receiving room.”
Officer Abazorius said he photographed and submitted the drug test as evidence, sealed the suspected drugs for laboratory analysis, separately packaged the three pipes and two packing tools, assigned each item a property number, and secured all of the evidence in locker 008.
“I asked John if he would be open to speaking with a drug recognition expert (DRE), to which he stated he would need to confer with his attorney first,” Officer Abazorius said.
John Vaillant, 61, of Leominster, was charged with the following:
- Possess Class A Drug (fentanyl)
- Possess Class B Drug (crack-cocaine)
- OUI-Drugs
- Negligent Operation of Motor Vehicle
Vaillant was arraigned in Leominster District Court on July 6, 2026. Following his arraignment, Vaillant was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he not drive without a valid license.
Vaillant’s next court date is a pretrial conference hearing scheduled for Aug. 12, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in July, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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