Woman arrested in Lincoln after incident in Concord

A woman who allegedly pulled two fire alarms and intentionally left a suspicious package in Concord was captured by police in Lincoln late last week after fleeing the scene in her car and on foot.

Concord Police and Fire Departments responded on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7:12pm to the Dunkin Donuts at 1641 Sudbury Road for a report of a fire alarm activation. Upon arrival, police said they discovered that two pull stations within the store had been pulled maliciously by a woman who then left the store. That same woman then went next door to the Nine Acre Farm Convenience Store, where she made threatening statements, then left a suitcase inside the store and fled in a vehicle, police said.

The convenience store and Dunkin Donuts were both closed, and all businesses within 300 feet were evacuated as a precaution while a State Police bomb squad responded to the scene to evaluate the suitcase.

While Concord Police and Fire secured the stores with assistance from mutual aid partners, they also began searching for the suspect who left the suitcase behind and located her crashed vehicle on South Great Road in Lincoln a short time later.

Meanwhile, Rick Watkins, who lives on South Great Road close to the Concord town line, went to answer his doorbell, but by the time he got there, the person was gone. However, his doorbell camera caught an image of her. She had apparently walked up his driveway from her car around a gate, then fled into the woods after ringing the bell.

“I was going to go outside but my wife and son said to call the police because it seemed odd — no one ever comes up our driveway,” Watkins said.

Police and K-9 units arrived within two minutes and arrested the woman after searching around his house for about an hour, he said. April Grueter, 48, of Webster, was charged with causing a false fire alarm, tampering with a fire call box, disorderly conduct and possession of a hoax device.

The State Police Bomb Squad determined the suitcase did not contain any explosives or incendiary devices.

Watkins praised the police response and search efforts, saying, “they were unbelievable… it was pretty impressive to see them work.”