Two men arrested at Haverhill’s Common Ground Café after knife threat report

HAVERHILL – On Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, at approximately 6:09 p.m., Haverhill Police Officer Tomanik Falcon spoke with a 42-year-old woman at the police station who reported that a white man with long red hair, later identified as Cristian Jensen-Howser, threatened to slap her if she returned to Common Ground Café, a nonprofit organization at 194 Winter Street that serves homeless and low-income residents.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Tomanik Falcon and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

According to police, Cristian K. Jensen-Howser, 20, is a resident of North Billerica, MA.

“[The reporting party] stated that yesterday and last night, individuals staying behind Common Grounds bullied her,” Officer Falcon said. “She specifically mentioned that, while sleeping on a bench, multiple people kept shaking the bench.”

Officer Falcon said the woman could not identify everyone present but reported that Jensen-Howser, the man with long red hair, had threatened to punch her. The woman also reported that, during an argument last night, Jensen-Howser brandished several knives, tossing two to the ground while keeping one in his hand.

“[The reporting party] claimed that Cristian threatened her with a knife, but she could not clarify how,” Officer Falcon added. “When I asked if he pointed the knife at her, she replied that he did not, and it appeared Cristian was attempting to act tough rather than directly threaten her.”

Officer Falcon said the woman frequently changed her statements and struggled to stay on topic throughout their conversation.

“After briefly leaving for the police-only area of the station, I returned to find [the reporting party] had left,” Officer Falcon said.

Officer Falcon then responded to Common Ground Café (colloquially referred to as “Common Grounds”), where he located the reporting party, Jensen-Howser, and several other individuals.

“It should be noted that Common Grounds displays ‘No Trespassing’ signs for the hours between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.,” Officer Falcon said. “I arrived after 6:00 p.m. I spoke with Cristian, who denied threatening [the reporting party] with a knife or making physical threats. Cristian reported that, before sunset today and during an argument, [the reporting party] threw a bag of food at him, striking his arm. He also said that [the reporting party] often starts arguments with him and others at Common Grounds.”

Officer Falcon said that during his investigation, Jensen-Howser, the reporting party, and several other individuals at the scene argued over their differing accounts of what had transpired.

“I advised everyone at Common Grounds that they were required to leave the property, as they were trespassing after 6:00 p.m.,” Officer Falcon said. Officer Falcon said a man identified as Matthew Morgan insisted that he was allowed to stay, but Officer Falcon told him that, without proof, he would need to leave.

According to police, Matthew Morgan, 22, is homeless with an Ohio address.

“All parties slowly began gathering their belongings, continuing to argue and yell, particularly Cristian, Matthew, and [the reporting party], about the police response and the need to vacate Common Grounds,” Officer Falcon said.
“The situation escalated, with Cristian and Matthew yelling profanities at [the reporting party] at the top of their lungs.”

Officer Falcon said that, instead of leaving, Jensen-Howser and Morgan continued to argue with the reporting party.

“I informed Cristian and Matthew that I was placing them under arrest for trespass and disorderly conduct,” Officer Falcon said. “As I attempted to arrest Cristian, he tensed his arms, pulled away, and dropped his body weight.”

Officer Falcon said he and another responding officer handcuffed Jensen-Howser and escorted him to a cruiser as he continued to drop his body weight along the way.

“I then attempted to place Matthew in handcuffs,” Officer Falcon said. “He also tensed his arms, pulled away, and dropped his body weight, making it difficult to handcuff him.”

The officers also handcuffed Morgan and escorted him to the rear of a cruiser, although he, too, resisted by dropping his body weight.

“Both individuals were repeatedly instructed to stop resisting,” Officer Falcon said. “Contact controls were used to secure them in handcuffs. After Cristian and Matthew were transported to the station for booking, all remaining parties left the area.”

“At the station, Cristian and Matthew were introduced to Sergeant [Nicole] Donnelly, who advised them of their charges, Miranda rights, and right to a telephone call,” Officer Falcon said. “Throughout the booking process, Cristian was uncooperative and yelled
profanities at me.”

Officer Falcon added that Morgan was booked without incident, while Jensen-Howser was eventually booked after repeatedly refusing to cooperate.

“Due to inconsistencies in [the reporting party’s] statements and her inability to specifically articulate how she felt threatened by Cristian while he had a knife out, no charges are being pursued against him regarding the alleged knife incident,” Officer Falcon said.

Jensen-Howser and Morgan were arraigned in Haverhill District Court on Oct. 5, 2026. Following their arraignments, they were both released under the condition that they stay away from Common Ground Café after business hours. Both are scheduled to return to court for pretrial hearings on Nov. 13, 2026.

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place earlier this month, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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