LEOMINSTER — On Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, Leominster Police Officer Garrett Hardy was dispatched to the Market Basket at 71 Sack Boulevard following a report of shoplifting.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Garrett Hardy and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Hardy said dispatch advised him that the suspect was getting physical with loss prevention personnel.
Upon his arrival, Officer Hardy said multiple Market Basket employees pointed toward the middle of the parking lot, where he observed Justyne Kreiner arguing with Cole and Michael, two of Market Basket’s loss prevention employees.
According to police, Justyne Kreiner, 31, is a resident of Leominster, MA.
“I separated the parties and spoke with Justyne Kreiner,” Officer Hardy said. “Justyne informed me that she was shoplifting from Market Basket due to the fact times were tough.”
Kreiner then told Officer Hardy that Cole “assaulted her and refused to let her go.”
“Justyne stated that she had the money to pay for the groceries and she would go back inside,” Officer Hardy said. “Justyne informed me that her daughter…was in the shopping cart during this incident. Justyne stated her mother…has [her daughter] and they already left. I informed Justyne that [her daughter] had to come back so I could do a wellbeing check on her.”
Officer Hardy then spoke with Cole, a loss prevention associate for Market Basket.
“Cole stated that he was watching Justyne on his security monitors. Cole stated that Justyne had a shopping cart full of groceries,” Officer Hardy said.
Cole stated that Justyne walked past all points of sale and exited the store without paying. He said he then left the store in an attempt to apprehend her.
Officer Hardy said Cole stated that he asked Kreiner to stop and come back inside, but she continued walking away.
“Cole stated that he placed his hand on Justyne’s wrist and attempted to redirect her back into the store,” Officer Hardy said. “Cole stated that when he placed his hand on Justyne’s, she then punched him with a closed fist approximately five times in the face.”
Cole said he refused to let go of Kreiner’s wrist so after she punched him, Kreiner swung her purse and struck him in the face with it, then kicked him in the leg. Cole said police arrived right after this.
Officer Hardy then spoke with Michael, the other Market Basket employee who was in the middle of the parking lot when he arrived on scene.
“Michael stated that he is shadowing Cole and is trying to be loss prevention,” Officer Hardy said. “Michael stated the identical story as Cole, but stated that he observed Justyne punch Cole closer to 10 times with a closed fist.”
Officer Hardy said that Michael printed him off a receipt of what Kreiner was allegedly attempting to steal.
“Justyne attempted to steal 33 items totaling $210.15,” Officer Hardy said.
Officer Hardy said that while he was speaking with Michael, a woman came over and informed him that she had witnessed the whole ordeal outside the grocery store.
“[The witness] stated that she observed Cole trying to deescalate the situation and get Justyne back inside the store,” Officer Hardy said. “[She] stated that she then observed Justyne ‘get violent and punch Cole multiple times.’”
The woman also stated that she witnessed Kreiner strike Cole with her purse.
At around this time, Officer Hardy said Kreiner’s mother arrived back on scene with Kreiner’s daughter.
“[Kreiner’s mother] informed me that she had no idea that Justyne was going to shoplift,” Officer Hardy said. “[She] stated that she gave Justyne a few hundred dollars and then proceeded to open her purse to show me she had a few hundred more on her.”
Officer Hardy said he then spoke with Kreiner’s daughter, who told him she was uninjured and okay.
“She appeared to be in good health,” Officer Hardy added.
Officer Hardy then informed Kreiner that she was going to be placed under arrest and placed her in handcuffs.
Another responding officer then transported Kreiner back to the Leominster Police Department for booking, while Officer Hardy remained on scene to continue his investigation.
“I went inside Market Basket with Cole and observed the video footage of Justyne shoplifting. I was able to see Justyne pass all points of sale with a shopping cart full of food,” Officer Hardy said. “When Justyne got close to the registers she started to walk faster while exiting the store. Cole attempted to show me video footage of the outside but the cameras did not show where the assault occurred.”
Officer Hardy said that when he arrived back at the station, he contacted the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families (DCF) and filled out a 51A form against Kreiner since her daughter was present during the crime. (A 51A form is a mandatory report that professionals in Massachusetts, who work with children, must file with the DCF when they suspect that a child is being abused, neglected, or both.)
Justyne Kreiner, 31, of Leominster, was charged with the following:
- Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (purse)
- Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (shod foot)
- Assault & Battery (punching)
- Shoplifting by Asportation
Kreiner’s arraignment was scheduled for the morning of Aug. 24, 2026, in Leominster District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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