LEOMINSTER โ On Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at approximately 2:19 a.m., Leominster police Officers Braden Carlson and Carlos Crespo-Delgado were dispatched to the Motel 6 at 48 Commercial Road after an employee reported that a guest had tampered with a fire alarm, causing it to activate.
(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 ofย News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)ย
โThe sprinklers were not activated,โ Officer Carlson said. Adding, โUpon our arrival, the employee who had called informed us that the man who had tampered with the alarm was staying in Room 237.โ
At around this time, Officer Adam Washburn arrived to assist.
โWhile on scene, the alarm was still actively sounding,โ Officer Carlson said. โI knocked on the door to Room 237. We were met by three occupants of the room. One ะพัcupant was agitated that we were there. While explaining why we were there, the unknown male party proceeded to try and close the door. I then stuck my foot in the doorway, preventing it from closing.โ
Officer Carlson informed the men that the door would remain open while police investigated the incident.
โThe male party became agitated by this and retreated into the room,โ Officer Carlson said. โOne male then exited the room to speak with us. I was able to identify him as Diego Whiteside.โ
According to police, Diego J. Whiteside, 25, is a resident of Sacramento, California.
โDiego informed me that he had not touched the sprinkler system and that it was nobody in their room,โ Officer Carlson said.
Officer Crespo-Delgado then went to review the motelโs surveillance footage while Officer Carlson and Officer Washburn remained with Whiteside.
Officer Carlson said Officer Crespo-Delgado returned a short time later and told him and Officer Washburn that the surveillance captured Whiteside as he removed a fire alarm from the ceiling, which caused the fire alarm system to activate throughout the motel.
โAt this time, Diego admitted to us that he did touch the alarms, and he did not mean for it to go off,โ Officer Carlson said. โHis friends were not with him when he did this, so they were not aware it was him that caused it.โ
Officer Carlson then told Whiteside to turn around and place his hands behind his back, advising him that he was under arrest.
โI then handcuffed Diego,โ Officer Carlson said. โI then checked the cuffs for proper fit and tightness before escorting him to Officer Washburn’s cruiser for transport. Officer Crespo-Delgado and I then stayed on scene as the manager wanted the other two males to leave.โ
Officer Carlson said that after the other men were informed of the managerโs request, they left without incident.
โOfficer Crespo-Delgado later informed me that Diego had gone up to one fire alarm, removed the cover and then put it back on,โ Officer Carlson said. โHe then walked downstairs and removed another, which caused the alarm to trigger. This action served no legitimate purpose.โ
Diego Whiteside, 25, of Sacramento, California, was charged with one count violating Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 148, Section 27A of disconnecting a sprinkler system or other fire-protection device.
Whitesideโs arraignment was scheduled for the morning of Aug. 12, 2026, in Leominster District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, thatโs because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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