Incidents in connection with a fistfight, a sideswiped car and a fight with a machete make up the criminal history of a Shrewsbury person charged with shooting a man near a pond on Thursday.
Snehal A. Srivastava, 26, was charged with one count of armed assault to murder and two counts of carrying a firearm without a license.
On Friday, Westborough District Court Judge Jennifer Stark entered a not guilty plea on their behalf and ordered that Srivastava, who was not in the courtroom, be held without bail.
The day before, Srivastava shot Kevin Doherty, 56, several times in the area of 72 Edgewater Ave. near Jordan Pond in Shrewsbury, prosecutors said. Doherty was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and was pronounced dead. Srivastava was arrested by Shrewsbury police at their home.
Assault and battery
Documents from Westborough District Court show that Srivastava was first charged with assault and battery on Nov. 14, 2018. A three-sentence-long police report says Srivastava punched their brother in the face at their Shrewsbury home.
“I observed a cut above the victim’s left eye which the victim stated was from [Srivastava] punching him,” Shrewsbury police officer Ryan Chartrand wrote in the police report.
Following a pretrial probation hearing May 14, 2019, the case was dismissed, according to court records.
Home invasion
Srivastava was next charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of home invasion on Feb. 5, 2020. Earlier that morning, Srivastava entered a home on Cranbrook Road in Shrewsbury with a hammer, Officer Daniel J. Cronin wrote in a report. The people inside were “in fear of being injured,” and a struggle ensued.
Srivastava got into a car and drove off until police arrested them on Dartmoor Drive at Prospect Street, Cronin wrote. They were acquitted following a bench trial on Oct. 28, 2020.
Hit and run
More than a year later, at 10:45 p.m. on June 17, 2021, Massachusetts State Police trooper Joao Barros was on patrol on Interstate 290 when he was notified of a hit-and-run before Exit 19 in Northborough, on the westbound side, according to Barros’ report.
Barros met with a man, who said a sedan followed him, sideswiped his car and drove off, Barros wrote. The man said he had left a party on Cranbrook Drive in Shrewsbury and drove past a few houses when the sedan started to tailgate him and followed him to the highway. Once on I-290, the sedan sideswiped him and damaged his car before it drove off, he said.
Barros and another trooper went to the house on Cranbrook Drive, where the party was held, to talk to the homeowners, he continued. The troopers spoke with Srivastava’s father, who confirmed the sedan described by the man belonged to Srivastava and that they would soon be home.
Srivastava returned home and admitted to the troopers that they tailgated the man’s car after he cut Srivastava off on the highway, Barros wrote. They claimed the man tailgated them and that their cars made contact. Srivastava did not stop because they feared for their safety.
Srivastava was charged with leaving the scene of property damage and pleaded not guilty on Feb. 23, 2022. The Worcester County District Attorney’s office later requested that the charges be dismissed on May 19, 2023.
Machete assault
Srivastava’s most recent court appearance was scheduled for July 2025 in connection with an incident on Sept. 13, 2022.
At around 6:20 p.m., several Westborough police officers were dispatched to the closed Regal Cinema at 233 Turnpike Road. Officers initially were notified of an “active fight in progress where a baseball bat is involved,” Officer Joseph Lawer wrote.
Lawer spoke with the victim, a man, who said he was in a parking lot when a Toyota Camry, driven by Srivastava, circled his car, the officer wrote. The man told Srivastava to get out and stop what they were doing.
The man noticed Srivastava had a machete with them, and he “feared that he will be assaulted,” Lawer wrote.
Srivastava tried to get out of their car but the man held on to the door to stop them from getting out, but was unsuccessful. Srivastava got out and “a tussle ensued.”
Srivastava cut the man’s right hand with the machete during the altercation and drove off, Lawer wrote. After Lawer arrived, he wrapped the man’s hand with gauze to slow the bleeding until Westborough firefighters arrived.
Lawer and other Westborough police officers went to Srivastava’s home and arrested them there, the officer wrote.
The next day, Srivastava was charged in Westborough District Court with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, assault with a dangerous weapon and mayhem.
This incident was intended to go to a bench trial in July 2025 but was dismissed due to “lack of prosecution,” according to court records.
Srivastava is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing for the Shrewsbury case on Sept. 12.
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