City man charged with assault, kidnap

A Fitchburg man is facing the charges in an incident in Leominster.

Police arrested a city man last week after a woman called police to report that she had been threatened with a handgun and wasn’t allowed to leave her apartment, according to police and court documents.

Officers were called to 230 Kimball St. Friday for a report that a woman had been assaulted and held against her will by Juan Zubiaga-Baez, 43, 230 Kimball St., Apt. E, the reporting officer said.

When officers arrived the victim told them she was visiting Zubiaga-Baez and when she arrived at his apartment he appeared intoxicated, was having trouble standing and was

acting in a “strange fashion.”

She told the officers Zubiaga-Baez made sexual advances toward her, which she rebuffed, which made him angry and he wouldn’t let her leave his apartment, at one point grabbing her by the throat and then holding a black handgun to her head, the victim told the officers. Zubiaga-Baez then grabbed a backpack the victim brought to the apartment and the handgun and went to his bedroom, which was when the victim was able to leave and call police for help, the officer reported.

Officers quickly located Zubiaga-Baez in his apartment and found the handgun, which was a BB gun, the officer reported.

As a result, ZubiagaBaez was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, witness intimidation, strangulation, assault and battery, and kidnapping, according to court documents.

When arraigned on Monday, Zugiaga-Baez, who pleaded not guilty, was ordered held without bail pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday, according to court documents.

Fitchburg man summonsed to court for allegedly punching woman

FITCHBURG After police identified a city man suspected of punching a woman after a road rage incident in December, he was summonsed to district court on Monday to answer for two counts of assault and battery, according to police and court documents.

Police were called to the intersection of Bemis and Duck Mill roads on Dec. 28 by the victims and several witnesses about an altercation involving a road rage incident, the reporting officer said.

When the officers arrived they spoke with a 20-year-old woman who told them she was stopped in the right lane of Bemis Road at the traffic light at the intersection of Airport Road, heading outbound, when a man later identified as Christopher M. Pearce,

38, of 204 Roosevelt Ave., pulled beside her in the left turn lane and began glaring at her and then began yelling at her.

When the light turned green, the woman continued straight and Pearce went straight ahead, instead of turning, began to merge in front of the woman, who told the officers Pearce appeared to be trying to force her off the road, the officer reported. The woman let Pearce in front of her and Pearce then began slamming on his brakes, the victim told police, adding she thought he was trying to have her strike his vehicle and then he stopped just past Duck Mill Road, got out of his vehicle and began walking toward the woman, continuing to scream at her, the officer reported.

The victim then got out of her car and denied she was trying to cut him off and Pearce then punched

The woman who was punched had swelling and bruising next to her left eye.

her once in the face with a closed fist and shoved her to the ground, she told the officers.

A friend of the victim, also 20 years old, was driving behind her when the incident occurred and saw Pearce get out of his vehicle, walk toward her friend while screaming before punching her, the officer reported.

The victim’s friend attempted to get Pearce away from her, and he turned and slapped her, the officer reported.

The woman who was punched had swelling and bruising next to her left eye, but her friend didn’t appear to be injured, the officer reported. When officers ran a background check on Pearce, they found he had been charged seven times since 1999 for assault and battery with four of the charges being dismissed. He was found guilty for the other three, the officer reported.

As a result of the incident, Pearce was charged with two counts of assault and battery, according to court documents.

When arraigned on Monday, Pearce, who pleaded not guilty, was released on personal recognizance and ordered to return to court on May 27 for a pretrial hearing, according to court documents.