GREENFIELD — Two men are being held without bail following a dangerous hearing stemming from an alleged near-fatal incident in Millers Falls.

Brendon Collette, 25, of Turners Falls, and Xavier Z. Chadwell, 21, of Greenfield, have pleaded not guilty to single counts of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, disorderly conduct, carrying a dangerous weapon and mayhem.

They were arraigned in Greenfield District Court on Dec. 29 and Judge William Mazanec III ruled five days later that the prosecution had met its burden to prove releasing the defendants on bail would jeopardize the public’s safety. State law allows for people deemed dangerous in District Court to be held without bail for up to 120 days.

Two juveniles were also arrested for their roles in the alleged attack but their names have been impounded due to their age.

According to a report filed by Montague Police Officer Christopher Smerz, he and three colleagues responded to a reported assault and battery on Mormon Hollow Road in Millers Falls at about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 26. Officers arrived and saw the victim sitting in the driveway with serious facial injuries, including loss of teeth, multiple lacerations, and a large hematoma under the right eye. Northfield EMS and the Turners Falls Fire Department arrived to treat and evaluate the victim before taking him to Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

The victim is now expected to survive but at one point had reportedly been transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was sedated due to a potentially fatal traumatic brain injury.

According to a probable cause statement filed by Montague Police Detective Sgt. Joshua Hoffman, authorities concluded that Collette and Chadwell went to the Mormon Hollow Road home with two minors and a 25-year-old woman to purchase marijuana and a “shroom bar,” a psilocybin mushroom chocolate bar. A 20-year-old man who was with the victim at the time of the alleged assault told police a black BMW pulled into the driveway and multiple masked people exited it, two of them with weapons — a steel pipe and a machete.

The man reportedly told police he ran to the house to arm himself with a knife after the masked individuals ran toward them and began attacking the victim. The man said he went back outside with a box cutter and the vehicle left, heading toward Wendell. According to Hoffman’s statement, the man said he told another man nearby to call 911.

Sgt. Jacob Dlugosz, of the Montague Police Department, was reportedly on random patrol in downtown Turners Falls when he stopped a vehicle occupied by people he later identified as Collette, Chadwell and the two juveniles, one of whom eventually admitted the four had been involved with the assault on Mormon Hollow Road after going there to buy marijuana. One of the minors told Dlugosz the victim and the other man approached the vehicle armed with knives. He said Collette at one point grabbed the victim from behind and threw him to the ground. He also admitted to punching the victim while Collette was holding him down, making it impossible for the victim to defend himself.

With this new information, Collette was placed under arrest. Collette reportedly told police he grabbed the victim because, even though he saw no weapon, he assumed he was going to stab one of the juveniles. He said he grabbed the victim from behind and held him down while one of the juveniles punched the victim.

Smerz found a machete in a backpack one of the juveniles eventually admitted to owning. At least one black face mask was found in the front compartment and a baseball bat was on the floor of the front passenger seat.

According to Hoffman, Chadwell on Dec. 28 agreed to be interviewed by police and said the altercation was self-defense. He also said he never tried to stop anyone from attacking the victim and he admitted to chasing after the victim’s friend with the two juveniles. The information obtained during this interview gave Hoffman probable cause to arrest Chadwell.

Collette and Chadwell are scheduled for a pretrial hearing in Greenfield District Court on Feb. 1.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.