AMHERST — A Sunderland man is being arraigned Friday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown for his alleged role in a violent home invasion and armed robbery on South East Street in Amherst in October 2016.
John Joseph Niemiec, 29, of 213 Plumtree Road, was arrested Thursday at the Amherst police station at 1:56 p.m. on a charges of conspiracy to commit a home invasion and conspiracy to commit an armed robbery, Amherst Police Detective Nicholas Chandler said.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in court and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Feb. 8. His court file was impounded on the grounds that there is an ongoing investigation into the case.
Niemiec is the second person to face charges related to the incident in the early morning hours of Oct. 30, when several men, who were brandishing tactical gear and weapons — including a hatchet and a handgun — ransacked the home at 943 South East St. for drugs and valuables, according to police.
Patrick Bemben, 25, formerly of Hadley, pleaded not guilty in January in Hampshire Superior Court arraignment on charges of conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit armed masked robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious injury, three counts of armed masked robbery, nighttime breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building and use of body armor during a felony.
Bemben was released from jail last month and is spending 90 days in the Recovery Center of Americas in Westminster. He’s due to return to court April 18.
Chandler said the investigation into the incident continues.
At Bemben’s arraignment, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne said that some of the men who lived in the residence confronted the masked assailants in the driveway where a fight broke out. One of the residents was badly sliced on an arm with a hatchet, Gagne said, while Bemben was struck in the head with a baseball bat.
The men accused in the attack fled into a wooded area behind the home where numerous items typically used in marijuana production were recovered, according to police. A large container with more than a pound of marijuana was also located, police said. After the foot pursuit, prosecutors said Bemben was in possession of goggles, a headlamp, a tactical bulletproof vest, a hatchet, pepper spray, various knives and a baton.