TOWNSEND — Townsend Police, with vital support from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) SWAT Team arrested two people with warrants who barricaded themselves inside a home.
MATTHEW FRANCIS, age 37, of WESTMINSTER, was arrested and charged with:
- Resisting Arrest
DEANNA SHATTUCK, 40, of TOWNSEND, was arrested and charged with:
- Resisting Arrest
- Vandalism
On Tuesday, July 7, at approximately 9:15 p.m., officers from Townsend Police, Pepperell Police and Groton Police went to 2 Kaneohe Court in Townsend in an effort to locate and arrest FRANCIS and SHATTUCK.
FRANCIS was wanted on nine warrants for charges including larceny, receiving stolen property, and shoplifting. SHATTUCK was wanted on two warrants on charges including receiving stolen property and drug possession.
Police arrived at the property, announced their presence, and told FRANCIS and SHATTUCK to come outside, but they barricaded themselves inside.
Pepperell Police deployed a drone into the home to locate FRANCIS and SHATTUCK, but the drone became disabled in the home’s basement.
Due to reasonable suspicion that FRANCIS may have armed himself with a kitchen knife, police requested assistance from NEMLEC SWAT, which has special training to arrest potentially armed and barricaded individuals, as well as a trained negotiator
NEMLEC SWAT attempted to de-escalate and negotiate with FRANCIS and SHATTUCK for several hours before eventually forcing entry into the home early Wednesday morning and deploying pepper spray.
FRANCIS was arrested by members of NEMLEC SWAT while attempting to flee out a basement window. SHATTUCK was arrested by members of NEMLEC SWAT in the basement.
A subsequent investigation determined that SHATTUCK vandalized the Pepperell Police drone in the home’s basement.
FRANCIS was transported to UMass Memorial Health Alliance in Leominster for evaluation and is scheduled to be arraigned today in Ayer District Court.
SHATTUCK was evaluated on scene by an ambulance crew but declined to be transported to a hospital. She is scheduled to be arraigned today in Ayer District Court.
“I want to thank everyone who was involved in this incident for their professionalism, patience and teamwork,” said Chief James Sartell. “NEMLEC SWAT provides us with highly trained, readily available backup when we face complex and potentially dangerous calls, and their support in this incident was invaluable.”
These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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