LITTLETON – On Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, at approximately 12:40 a.m., Littleton Police Sergeant Brian Casey was conducting a business check of Archer’s Mobil, at 500 King Street, when he observed a blue 2013 Ford cargo van parked halfway in a parking space, with a man slumped over in the driver’s seat.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts of Sergeant Brian Casey and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The vehicle was not running, nor were any lights on,” Sergeant Casey said. “Archer’s Mobil is a 24-hour gas station open to the public with a store as well as multiple gas pumps.”
Sergeant Casey said he approached the man who had the windows down and was visibly slumped over in the van.
“I have spoken with the owner of Archer’s Mobil in the past and he prefers to not have patrons in his parking lot for extended periods of time without permission from the staff during the late-night hours,” Sergeant Casey explained.
Sergeant Casey said he attempted to wake the man, whom he identified as Steven Ciano, the registered owner of the van, from his RMV license photo.
According to police, Steven M. Ciano, 59, recently had a residential address in Billerica, MA. Ciano later informed police that he is currently homeless and in-between apartments, residing at a storage unit in Tyngsboro.
“I had already conducted an inquiry of the vehicle using my cruiser’s MDT [mobile data terminal] through the registry and learned the vehicle was revoked for insurance and the registered owner, Ciano, did not have a valid license, prior to walking up to it [i.e., the vehicle],” Sergeant Casey said. “His license had expired in June of 2026. I later confirmed the registration status and license status. I have also stopped this vehicle in the past where the operator (different than R/O [registered owner]) refused to stop. It should be noted I was well aware that Ciano had a history of charges associated with drug possession.”
Sergeant Casey said he could see prescription bottles between two seats of the van in a homemade wooden cabinet with no top. He added that the prescription bottles were in plain view and that the labels had been torn off.
Sergeant Casey said he woke Ciano after multiple loud announcements.
“Ciano went on to speak about how he thought I was his sister waking him up from within the vehicle, how he was coming from ‘the Cape,’” Sergeant Casey said.
Sergeant Casey added that while he was speaking with Ciano, his pupils were pinpoint and his speech was very slurred.
“I asked if he took prescription medication and at first, he stated he didn’t, but then stated he did,” Sergeant Casey said. “Ciano’s statements were not making any sense at this point. He eventually stated he pulled over as he was very tired and was on his way to Tyngsboro. He had no idea what time it was.”
Sergeant Casey asked Ciano if there was anything inside the vehicle, and Ciano said there was not.
“I asked if he minded if I searched the vehicle and at first, he denied. However, I later informed him I had to do an inventory of the vehicle anyhow,” Sergeant Casey said.
During his conversation with Ciano, Sergeant Casey said that Ciano admitted to knowing that his plates were revoked and his license was not valid.
Sergeant Casey requested a tow truck respond to the scene and asked Ciano to step out of the vehicle.
Sergeant Casey requested a tow truck and asked Ciano to exit the van. Ciano was patted down for weapons and then went to sit at a picnic table where he smoked a cigarette while Sergeant Casey searched the vehicle.
“During the inventory search of the vehicle I located no less than five prescription bottles, most with the tags removed, which Ciano attributed to them being old; however, specifically, one label was clearly removed completely and within the bottle was Suboxone strips,” Sergeant Casey said. He added that while Ciano said the prescription bottle with the Suboxone strips in it didn’t have labels because it was old, the Suboxone strips within it were not even expired.
“I know from personal and professional reasons that the labels are designed to be extremely difficult to remove completely, oftentimes having to use a heat gun or other methods to remove the labels completely,” Sergeant Casey explained. Later adding, “Another label was clearly removed only around the name and personal identifiers within the bottle while the other portions remained intact. Within this bottle was lamotrigine.”
Sergeant Casey said he conducted a search of lamotrigine and found out that it is an antiseizure medication that can exacerbate the effects of narcotics.
“Ciano denied ever having seizures,” Sergeant Casey said.
Sergeant Casey seized the Suboxone and lamotrigine and secured them in his cruiser.
During the search, Sergeant Casey said he also located a spoon with a white powdery substance on it, which later, unbeknownst to him, got stuck to the magnet on the mount of his body-worn camera.
“There were multiple crack pipes and other smoking devices, tied-off surgical gloves, and baggies, all of which are consistent with drug usage,” Sergeant Casey said.
Sergeant Casey said he inventoried the van to the best of his ability, however, during the search there were items that were so unclean and orders that were so “horrid” that he threw up and was unable to continue.
Ciano was then placed under arrest and transported to the Littleton Police Department for booking by Officer James Ferreira.
“During booking, Ciano would continually fall asleep, sometimes midsentence. His speech was slurred and thick tongued,” Sergeant Casey said. Later adding, “He was clearly showing signs of impairment. I offered him to go to the hospital numerous times, which he declined. The prescriptions/Suboxone strips and bottles were placed in temporary evidence storage lockers.”
Steven M. Ciano, 59, who is homeless in Tyngsboro, was charged with the following:
- Possess Class B Drug
- Possess Class E Drug
- Unlicensed Operation of Motor Vehicle
- Unregistered Motor Vehicle
- Operating Motor Vehicle after Registration Suspended
Ciano’s bail was set at $150 cash.
Ciano was arraigned on Aug. 24, 2026, in Ayer District Court. According to court documents, Judge Tejal Mehta dismissed the Class B drug possession charge, dismissed the charge of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, dismissed the uninsured motor vehicle charge but fined Ciano $50, dismissed the unlicensed operation charge but fined him $50, and found him not responsible for operating an unregistered motor vehicle. The only charge that wasn’t dismissed, or Ciano was found not responsible for, was the Class E drug possession charge.
Ciano failed to appear for his pretrial hearing on Sept. 22, 2026, and was resummoned for Oct. 14, 2026.
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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