Westminster man arraigned for City Hall evacuation scare
Nate Walsh
GARDNER ��A Westminster man is being held on $50,000 bail for numerous charges stemming from Thursday�s evacuation scare at City Hall when he allegedly threatened a female city employee over the phone, while his bail was revoked Friday in Gardner District Court for a previous assault and battery charge involving the same woman. The domestic dispute between a city hall employee and her boyfriend escalated through an alleged large volume of harassing phone calls and e-mails, in which the man threatened to kill himself with a gun in front of City Hall Friday, according to police. The alleged threats resulted in Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire calling for a lock down of City Hall and the building�s evacuation at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. The man involved, Randy R. Rameau, 34, of 125 Ellis Road, Westminster, appeared in Gardner District Court before Judge Arthur Haley Friday wearing a maroon T-shirt and jeans. He was charged with 32 counts of violating an abuse prevention order, threatening to commit a crime and threatening to bomb or hijack a public place causing serious public alarm. Judge Haley ordered Mr. Rameau to be held on $50,000 bail and revoked his bail for a pending charge of domestic assault and battery involving the victim of the most recent charges. Mr. Rameau had appeared in the Gardner court on May 23 to be arraigned for a domestic assault and was released on personal recognizance, according to his defense attorney, Richard Lavers. According to a Westminster police report, released by the Gardner District Court, police arrested Mr. Rameau in April for allegedly kicking an air purifier the size of a soccer ball at the woman with it striking her face. During the hearing, the commonwealth said Mr. Rameau allegedly contacted the victim 32 times over the course of three days through phone calls, including those to City Hall, and e-mails in violation of an abuse prevention order. The commonwealth also alleged the content of some of the e-mails consisted of language of a �very disturbing nature,� including phrases such as �the end is coming.� According to a police report, released by the Gardner District Court, the woman contacted police to inform them Mr. Rameau was violating his abuse prevention order, and a city police officer observed the victim �crying and shaking uncontrollably� while allegedly talking to Mr. Rameau on her cell phone outside of City Hall Thursday. The report states the officer took the phone and listened to Mr. Rameau allegedly use profanity toward the woman. The report also states police obtained evidence that Mr. Rameau allegedly �made multiple threats to come to City Hall to have (the victim) witness him end his life by committing suicide,� and that he said he purchased a firearm. Mr. Rameau also has a 15-year criminal history and has had numerous restraining orders taken out against him, according to the commonwealth. As a result of his history, the commonwealth requested a bail amount of $25,000, which Judge Haley doubled. Mr. Lavers requested a �reasonable bail amount� and asked that his client not have his personal recognizance bail revoked as a result of the 34 new charges he was facing Friday. He also said the victim in the case had allegedly initiated the contact with his client, and said it was �encouraged, condoned and accepted.� City and state police, along with police from the towns of Westminster, Templeton, Phillipston conducted a search for the man after the alleged threats were made, according to police. State police arrested Mr. Rameau in Princeton shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday. Mr. Lavers said Friday his client voluntarily surrendered to police when he learned of the disturbance that occurred in Gardner. According to court documents, Mr. Rameau was arrested in June 2006 for threatening to allegedly burn down his house with a woman tied up inside of it. A Westminster police report from that time also states that while discussing relationship difficulties with a police officer, Mr. Rameau allegedly made reference to Steven Bourgeois, who was sentenced to life in prison in May for killing his girlfriend in April 2006 in Westminster. However, the report states the reference was not thought to be intended as a threat. Mr. Rameau is scheduled to appear in Gardner District Court on July 6 for a pretrial hearing. nwalsh@thegardnernews.com