A Haverhill mother and her two children were left shaken after police say a Lowell trio demanded entry into their Lafayette Square apartment Friday night, threatening to “shoot down” the door if she didn’t comply.
Jesse Bauchman, Anthony Decontreras and Tysean Meyer faced Haverhill District Court First Justice Stephen Abany Monday after being arrested by Haverhill Police Patrolman Jared Brady May 31 on a felony charge of nighttime breaking and entering, destruction of property and threat to commit a crime.
Brady, a member of Haverhill’s gang/narcotics unit, was first on scene Friday, catching up with the men while doing undercover surveillance on the exact address in question.
Jesse Bauchman appears in Haverhill District Court on June 3, 2019. (WHAV News photograph)
Brady was in an unmarked cruiser parked in the CVS lot around 8:30 p.m. Friday night when a 911 caller reported seeing four males—the three codefendants and a 15-year-old male juvenile—park in the same CVS lot and run across the street and up to the second floor. The caller said they were possibly armed. Brady later saw four men exit the front entrance of 135 Lafayette Square and into the vehicle described by the caller, which happened to be parked right next to his unmarked cruiser.
When approached by Brady and backup officers, Decontreras said a female friend was beat up by a male resident of the home and he was “going to fight him” and brought his friends as reinforcement. During his chat with police, Decontreras was “adamant” no one had guns.
Witnesses inside the apartment, however, told police another story. One woman told Brady she heard a male voice say while he was banging on the door “If you don’t open this door, we’ll shoot it down.” Brady also recorded damage to the door, along with a visible shoe print on the door.
State’s Attorney Stephen LaMonica petitioned for $15,000 cash bail for DeContreras, the man he alleged to be the “ringleader” in Friday’s incident. “Mr. Decontreras seems to be the ringleader of this little event,” LaMonica said. “I suggest that he’s the most culpable and is the one that actually makes entry into the apartment.”
Abany denied LaMonica’s request, opting to hold DeContreras instead on $2,500 cash bail. He imposed $1,500 bail for Meyer, while Bauchman remains free after posting $2,500 bail at the time of his arrest. All are ordered to stay away from victims in the case until their next court appearance later this month.