AMHERST — A Hadley man was ordered held without bail Monday for his alleged involvement in a drug-related home invasion that injured two people early Sunday morning.
Patrick Bemben, 25, was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery. According to court documents, Bemben is a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Amherst Police responded to a report of an armed robbery on South East Street around 1 a.m. Sunday.
When officers arrived at the home, they found two residents injured and handcuffed using plastic “flex-cuffs,” according to an arrest report by Amherst Sgt. Richard MacLean.
A 23-year-old man suffered a severe laceration to his upper right arm that will require surgery to repair, according to police. The man told officers he believe that a hatchet was used to inflict his injury.
Another resident, a 24-year-old man, was pistol-whipped and beaten by “multiple aggressors,” according to police.
Bemben also suffered injuries as the residents tried to defend themselves from the attack, MacLean wrote. He was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital to be treated for his injuries.
When police arrested Bemben, he was found with a tactical hatchet, a double edged boot knife, a folding knife, pepper spray and a billy club, MacLean wrote. He was wearing a “ski-type mask,” goggles, a headlamp, communication/radio equipment, a tactical bulletproof vest and carrier, battle dress uniform pants and flex-cuffs, according to the police report.
Police found a Glock .40-caliber magazine loaded with ball ammunition, gun parts and “significant blood evidence in front of the home,” MacLean wrote.
In a wooded area behind the home, police recovered numerous items relating to the growing and production of marijuana, according to the arrest report. A large plastic container with more than a pound of “fresh marijuana bud” was found just off the retaining wall on the driveway, according to police.
Police were able to question Bemben at the hospital and he allegedly admitted “that three to four men had preplanned specifically to rob the residents … of marijuana, molly (derivative of MDMA), marijuana resin/wax equipment to cultivate and manufacture the same as well as cash,” MacLean wrote.
Three other suspects remain at large, though the home appeared to be targeted and the public is not at risk, according to Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the district attorney.
The incident remains under investigation. Bemben is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 25.
