GARDNER – On Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, at approximately 5:21 p.m., Gardner Police Officer Joshua Willis spoke with a woman in the police station lobby about a possible violation of an abuse prevention order she had against her ex-boyfriend, Elijah Beltzer.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Joshua Willis and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
According to police, Elijah Beltzer, 26, resides in an apartment building on Franklin Court in Gardner, Massachusetts.
Officer Willis said the woman reported that she received a call from, Juana, a friend of Beltzer’s on Sept. 1, who told her that “Elijah told me to tell you it will be 8 on 1, watch your back.”
“[The reporting party] stated she did not report the incident immediately as she was not sure if it was a violation,” Officer Willis said. Adding, “Today she returned home from work and saw Elijah in the second-floor common hallway window just standing there looking outside.”
The reporting party said she waited in her vehicle for several minutes to see if Beltzer would go inside his apartment on the second-floor, before exiting her vehicle and heading to her apartment on the first floor of the same building.
“When she got to the common hallway door Elijah was standing there and opened the door for her,” Officer Willis said. “She stated they both just stood there for a second as he was blocking the entire doorway. As Elijah moved to the side to allow [the reporting party] to enter, she stated he said ‘hi’ or ‘hey’ to her.”
Beltzer then reportedly got into a vehicle with Juana and they left the area.
“Given this information I determined there was a violation of the 209A [abuse prevention order],” Officer Willis said. “[The reporting party] stated Juana lives in Winchendon and believed that is where they were heading.”
Officer Willis said dispatch contacted Winchendon police and informed them that there was probable cause to arrest Beltzer.
“A short time later Winchendon called stating they had Elijah in custody,” Officer Willis said.
Officer Willis then transported Beltzer from the Winchendon Police Department to the Gardner Police Department for booking.
Beltzer was then booked without incident.
“Elijah stated he did see [the reporting party] as he exited the building, but insisted that he did not say anything to her as he walked by,” Officer Willis said.
Elijah Beltzer, 26, of Franklin Court, Gardner, was charged with the following:
- Violation of Abuse Prevention Order
Beltzer was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Sept. 3, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he abide by the restraining order.
Beltzer attended a pretrial hearing on Oct. 6, 2026. His next court date is a discovery, compliance and election hearing scheduled for Nov. 17, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in September, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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