ATHOL — On Friday, May 22, 2026, at approximately 11:59 p.m., Athol Police Sergeant Paul Forand observed an older-model white Ford Ranger with Massachusetts license plates and a broken taillight traveling eastbound on South Street.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Sergeant Paul Forand and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The light was broken in a way that was allowing white light to shine through,” Sergeant Forand said. “As the vehicle turned right onto Tunnel Street, I activated the cruiser’s emergency lights and conducted a stop.”
Sergeant Forand said he approached the vehicle and informed the driver of the reason for the stop.
“The passenger, who I immediately recognized through previous police interactions, was Robert Woods,” Sergeant Forand said.
According to police, Robert A. Woods, 46, is a resident of Athol, MA.
“I had previous knowledge that Woods had an active default warrant in the WMS [Warrant Management System] from the Orange District Court, which dispatch confirmed,” Sergeant Forand said. “I then informed Woods he had a warrant and was under arrest.”
By this time, Sergeant Forand said Officers Gregory Fortes and Matthew Herk had arrived on scene to assist.
“I removed Woods from the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs,” Sergeant Forand said. “As I was searching his pockets incident to arrest, two stamped wax bags with a brown powdery substance fell to the ground.”
Sergeant Forand said he retrieved the bags and, based on his training and experience, concluded that the substance’s packaging and appearance were consistent with heroin or fentanyl.
“Both Woods and [the driver] (who had also been removed from the vehicle) were read Miranda rights from a card I carry,” Sergeant Forand said.
Sergeant Forand said both individuals stated that they understood and were willing to speak with him.
“Both parties denied there were any illegal substances in the vehicle,” Sergeant Forand said. “Due to finding the suspected heroin/fentanyl in Woods’ pocket, I conducted a search of the immediate area within the truck where Woods had access to.”
Sergeant Forand said that, in addition to the suspected heroin or fentanyl, he found a charred glass pipe containing white residue that he identified as a crack pipe.
“I also located two yellow packages labeled, ‘Buprenorphine and Naloxone Sublingual Film 8 mg/2 mg,’” Sergeant Forand said. “This medication is commonly known as Suboxone and requires a prescription. Woods stated he had a prescription for the Suboxone, but was unable to produce it. Both the suspected crack pipe and the Suboxone were located in bags next to Woods’ feet.”
Sergeant Forand released the driver with a warning for defective equipment.
Woods was placed in the rear of a cruiser and transported to the Athol Police Department for booking.
Robert Woods, 46, of Athol, was arrested and charged with the following:
- Warrant out of Orange District Court
- Possess Class A Drug
- Possess Class E Drug
After he was booked, Woods was released on $100 cash bail.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
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