MAYNARD – On Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at approximately 2:01 a.m., Maynard Police Officer Maxim Howard was patrolling Main Street when he noticed a vehicle parked in the parking lot of Mill & Main, an office park, with its driver’s side door ajar.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Maxim Howard and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“I pulled into the parking lot to investigate the open door,” Officer Howard said. He added that Sergeant Brian Petersen arrived at approximately the same time.
“I informed dispatch that I would be checking on a suspicious vehicle and provided the license plate number,” Officer Howard said.
Officer Howard said he then exited his cruiser and approached the “suspicious” vehicle with Sergeant Petersen.
“Once we reached the vehicle, I observed a female sleeping inside with her legs hanging out of the driver’s side door,” Officer Howard said. “I announced my presence, but the female did not wake up. After three announcements without a response, I attempted to wake her by gently shaking her shoulder. She still did not respond.”
Officer Howard said that after shaking the woman’s shoulder a second time, she finally began to wake up.
“During this interaction, I noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, and I also observed an open container of White Claw alcoholic beverage (5% alcohol by volume),” Officer Howard said. “The female eventually woke up in a confused state and was later identified as Samantha Leahy.”
According to police, Samantha Florence Leahy, 30, is a resident of Boxborough, MA.
“Looking around, she slurred, ‘Hello,’” Officer Howard said. “I explained the reason for our encounter, but Samantha seemed unable to comprehend why I was checking on her.”
Officer Howard said he asked Leahy if she knew where she was, but she again looked around and mumbled something he could not understand.
“I then inquired about where she had come from that led her to end up in the Mill & Main parking lot; however, Samantha still couldn’t provide an answer,” Officer Howard said.
Officer Howard also noted that Leahy’s eyes were bloodshot and glossy, her speech was slurred, and he detected a strong odor of alcohol emanating from her person.
“Samantha responded in a slurred and confused manner, expressing that she was just sleeping,” Officer Howard said. “I explained to her that she was not driving, and offered her the option to have someone come pick her up since the Mill & Main parking lot is marked with ‘no overnight parking’ signs, particularly given her level of intoxication.”
Officer Howard said he then asked Leahy for her license so he could identify who she was and where she was from.
“At that point, Samantha became aggravated and insisted that it is not a crime to sleep in her car,” Officer Howard said. “While attempting to grab her phone, she dropped it twice.”
According to Officer Howard, Leahy then told him and Sergeant Petersen that they had no valid reason to check on her and that it was legal for her to sleep in her car in the parking lot.
“I reiterated the reason for our interaction,” Officer Howard said. “Samantha unlocked her phone and stated that she would be recording our interaction, claiming we were unlawfully doing our job. Samantha once again inquired about the reason for the check-in so that it could be recorded. I explained that we were checking on her because her door was open, she was not responding to our presence, and she was parked in the Mill & Main parking lot, where overnight parking is not permitted.”
Officer Howard said he asked Leahy for her license again, but she continued to argue, claiming that she did not need to identify herself.
“I informed her that if she refused to identify herself and did not arrange for a ride, she would be placed into protective custody due to her level of intoxication and inability to care for herself,” Officer Howard said. “After further arguing, Samantha finally provided me with her license. I communicated with dispatch, and they returned with the necessary information. During this time, Sergeant Petersen repeatedly urged Samantha to call someone to pick her up. However, Samantha struggled to understand the question and remained combative. At this point, it was determined that Samantha would be placed into protective custody.”
Officer Howard said that after he ordered Leahy to exit her vehicle, she responded by stating, “F*ck off, I am allowed to sleep in my vehicle.”
Officer Howard said he repeated the exit order, but Samantha again refused to get out of the car.
“I issued two more exit orders, and she continued to decline to exit her vehicle. At that point, Sergeant Petersen and I went hands-on and assisted her out of the car,” Officer Howard said. “While doing so, Samantha pulled away and resisted.”
The officers then successfully handcuffed Leahy and placed her in the rear of a cruiser. She was then transported to the Maynard Police Department for booking.
“Once back at the police department, Samantha was booked by Sergeant Petersen and was informed of her rights,” Officer Howard said. “I then went over the protective custody paperwork with Samantha, and she declined to take a breath sample. Samantha was placed into cell number 4 for the remainder of the evening.”
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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