On Sunday, May 14th, 2023, I was working my assigned 8AM to 4PM shift in the East-1 cruiser.

At approximately 1:48PM, Officer Cassandra Campers (East-4), and I were dispatched to Trader Joe’s (145 Middlesex Avenue), for a fight, with possible injury. Officers Patrick Barton (West-5) and Patrick Canty (East-3), also arrived as backup. The following is a summary of the incident:

Upon arrival, I observed a heavy set male, later identified as Mr. Frederick Marmolejos standing over the victim, Mr. XXXX. Mr. Marmolejos had both hands grabbing the front of Mr. XXXX shirt. I immediately ordered Mr. Marmolejos off of Mr. XXXX and escorted him to the front of the parked vehicles. Mr. Marmolejos had no shoes on, just black socks that were partially off. Mr. Marmolejos was extremely elevated and screaming that Mr. XXXX grabbed his wife, Mrs. XXXX. He was yelling that he couldn’t relax because he was so mad and continued pacing and yelling for his wife, Mrs. XXXX. At this point, I conducted a pat-frisk of Mr. Marmolejos for weapons; no weapons were found.

Officer Campers tended to Mr. XXXX while I tried to calm Mr. Marmolejos down. Over Mr. Marmolejos’ yelling, I could hear Officer Campers tell Mr. XXXX to stay with her and try to keep him awake. Shortly after, Officer Canty, Catalado Ambulance and Somerville Fire arrived and also attended to Mr. XXXX. Mr. XXXX was in and out of consciousness and unable to speak. He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital by Cataldo Ambulance. Officer Campers called for a detective, due to Mr. XXXX injuries. Detective Thermidor responded as well as Seargant Steve St. Hilaire.

Mr. Marmolejos then calmed down enough to tell me what was going on. He stated the following:
He and his wife went to Nike to buy some shoes. When they left, they couldn’t remember exactly where they parked so they were searching around the parking lot for their vehicle. Their vehicle is a 2005 Honda Odyssey with a Massachusetts registration of XXXX. Mr. Marmolejos told his wife that they parked near a shopping cart station and then pointed out a van that he thought was his. While they walked up to the vehicle, Mr. Marmolejos noticed a male, later identified as Mr. XXXX, sitting inside the driver’s side seat of the vehicle. His first thought was that it wasn’t his vehicle but as he got closer, he saw the Dominican flag hanging from the rear view mirror and noticed that it was his vehicle. He used the automatic unlock fob to see if the vehicle was his. Mr. XXXX exited the vehicle and said he only took a dollar. Mr. Marmolejos told his wife, Mrs. XXXX to call the police. Mr. XXXX then attempted to take Mrs. XXXX phone, grabbed her, shoved her. Mr. Marmolejos then grabbed Mr. XXXX by the pants, threw him to the ground and began punching him. When asked where his shoes were, he said that he didn’t know because he kicked them off when he went to grab Mr. XXXX, after he pushed his wife, because he was tripping, because he was wearing open-toed sandals. He then added “I grabbed him right away because I didn’t want to try to run after him, because I’m a big boy, I can’t run after him.” He said he doesn’t really know what happened after that because he was extremely angry that Mr. XXXX put his hands on his wife.

Mrs. XXXX stated that following:
They were looking for their vehicle. She came around the other side of the vehicle and saw Mr. XXXX and Mr. Marmolejos talking, but she had no idea what they were talking about because they were speaking in English and she does not speak English. Her husband then told her to call the police, but she still wasn’t 100% sure why. As she attempted to call the police, Mr. XXXX charged towards her, grabbed her, and then shoved her, causing a scrape on her left knee. She then called 911 but was unable to communicate with dispatch what was happening. She then ran to a random, person, unknown to her, in the parking lot to speak with 911.

The person Mrs. XXXX handed the phone to was Ms. XXXX. Ms. XXXX told dispatch that it looked like he was trying to kill him. She also stated that the guy stated that he could not breathe. Dispatch received multiple other calls with the callers stating similar things. One caller stated that he needed an ambulance and appeared to have a head injury.

Officer Campers spoke with Ms. XXXX. She told Officer Campers that she arrived when Mr. Marmolejos already had Mr. XXXX on the ground. She observed Mr. Marmolejos stomp on Mr. XXXX head and chest non-stop. She also said that at one point, Mr. Marmolejos was choking Mr. XXXX, with one hand against the car, and the other around Mr. XXXX neck, stating that Mr. XXXX could not breathe.

Officer Canty and I both spoke with an unknown male that refused to identify himself. He that stated that Mr. Marmolejos was trying to kill Mr. XXXX. He stated that he choked him until he couldn’t breathe. I asked him how he choked him, he said with two hands, then with one hand. The male stated many times that he did not want to be a witness, and walked away. He also stated that he Mr. Marmolejos grabbed Mr. XXXX head and slammed it on the ground multiple times.

I placed Mr. Frederick Marmolejos under arrest for the following:
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C.265 s.13A/B: Aggravated Assault and Battery (Causing serious bodily injury)
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C. 265 s.15D/B: Strangulation with serious bodily injury
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C. 265 s.15A/A: Assault and Battery with a dangerous weapon (Weapon: the ground)

I will also be filing a criminal complaint against Mr. XXXX for the following:
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C.266 s.118e: Breaking and Entering Daytime MV For Felony
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C.265 s13A: Assault And Battery (Victim: Mrs. XXXX)
– 1 count of Massachusetts General Law C.268 s13b: Intimidation of Witness (Victim: Mrs. XXXX)

Respectfully submitted,
Officer Priscilla Ribeiro #349
Somerville Police Department