GARDNER — On Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, Gardner Police Sergeant Jeffrey LaBonte was on patrol in the area of Main Street when he observed a school bus pull out of Washington Street then activate its yellow flashing lights.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Sergeant Jeffrey LaBonte and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Sergeant LaBonte said the bus then pulled over at the corner of Main and Pine Street with its yellow lights activated while a student was on the sidewalk with their parent.
“I then observed the stop lights come on, and the stop sign begin to come out,” Sergeant LaBonte said.
At this time, Sergeant LaBonte said he observed a silver Toyota Camry with Massachusetts license plates pass the school bus while its stop lights were activated. The Camry was traveling along Main Street from the area of Hannaford toward Price Chopper.
“The school bus operator also observed this and honked the horn at the Toyota Camry,” Sergeant LaBonte said.
As Sergeant LaBonte began to turn around to stop the vehicle, he said he saw the vehicle make a left turn onto Washington Street.
Sergeant LaBonte said the vehicle accelerated quickly, turned right into Mack Prototype’s private parking lot and continued 200 yards through the lot before pulling in beside employees’ cars. He said he kept the vehicle in sight with the emergency blue lights of his cruiser activated and pulled in behind it while radioing dispatch.
“The operator began to get out of the vehicle attempting to blend in as if he was parking for work,” Sergeant LaBonte said.
Sergeant LaBonte ordered the man back into the vehicle, where he later provided a Massachusetts driver’s license and told the officer that he was unsure if his license was suspended.
The driver was identified as Jason MacLeod. Sergeant LaBonte said dispatch ran MacLeod’s information and confirmed that his Massachusetts driver’s license was suspended.
According to police, Jason W. Macleod, 49, is a resident of Gardner, MA.
“Jason was informed of his license status and admitted to me on BWC [body worn camera] that he was trying to evade me by pulling in the parking lot,” Sergeant LaBonte said. “He was placed in handcuffs; a duty tow was requested as Mack Prototype does not allow other vehicles not to park there.”
At around this time, Officers Alexandria Laderoute and Tanner Dumas arrived on scene to await the tow while Sergeant LaBonte transported Macleod to the Gardner Police Department for booking.
Jason W. Macleod, 49, of Gardner, was charged with the following:
- Operating a Motor Vehicle with License Suspended
- Fail to Stop for School Bus
Macleod was arraigned in Gardner District Court on Oct. 14, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance. Macleod’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Dec. 2, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in October, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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