By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org

The Berlin Police Department internal assessment, released Friday afternoon, examines shortcomings in officer actions during the period before Marisol Fuentes was killed.

Fuentes, 25, died inside the La Casita Mexican Restaurant in Berlin on July 6 after Gleason ambushed her with a shotgun. He had hidden in the building before opening time. Following the attack on Fuentes, Gleason entered the men's restroom and turned the weapon on himself.

The 65-page document reviews numerous service calls between Fuentes and her estranged husband Michael Gleason. Its strongest criticism focuses on actions officers failed to complete, especially the lack of follow-up after a July 4 call from Gleason's friend warning that Gleason posed a homicidal threat.

"This is a glaring failure of basic police functions and basic criminal investigation," the report states.

Berlin Police Chief Jeff Lemoine informed WMUR that Lt. Cpl. Jarod Beal, the officer responsible for following up on the July 4 call, was dismissed following the review. Officer Joshua Herrmann departed the department before the assessment concluded. Herrmann was cited for failing to record an earlier report that Gleason had breached a protective order.

Further into the document, reviewers note that Beal's lack of follow-up on the friend's call did not breach department rules, since Berlin Police had no relevant policies in place at the time.

"The Berlin Police Department, at the time of the July 4th welfare check, did not have a specific policy detailing the proper response to welfare checks," the report states.

Earlier reports from the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office had already detailed Berlin's shortcomings in protecting Fuentes. Gleason's friend Walter Marchiso contacted the Carroll County Sheriff's Department on July 4 with concerns that Gleason planned to kill Fuentes.

"Gleason [told Marchiso] not being in his right state of mind: that he had been having a hard time with the woman he married, and that he should just kill himself and maybe take her out too," the Attorney General's report states.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Department forwarded the information to Berlin Police within minutes, and the report reached Beal. Yet Beal took minimal steps with the details provided.

"[Beal] contacted Gleason by phone and that Gleason denied both knowing anyone by the name of Marchiso, and that he needed any assistance. No further action was taken by Berlin PD relative to Marchiso's call," the Attorney General's report states.

The Berlin internal review notes that Police Dispatcher Crystal Wallace raised concerns with Officer Joshua Cusson regarding Beal's handling of the Marchiso call.

"An internal investigation conducted by the Berlin Police Department revealed that on July 5, 2025, Dispatcher Wallace expressed concern to Officer Cusson on how the call for service (2025-12508) had been handled the previous day. No other action was taken by the BPD on this call for service prior to the July 6, 2025, murder of Fuentes and suicide of Gleason," the Berlin report states.

In April 2025, Gleason faced initial arrest on charges including sexual assault of Fuentes, kidnapping, and theft of several thousand dollars. He appeared in court repeatedly for no-contact orders, criminal proceedings, and an allegation of sexually assaulting a minor. Police received multiple calls from Fuentes and Gleason throughout spring and early summer regarding property issues and possible protective order breaches.

The Berlin review identified internal communication breakdowns and officers missing critical updates on ongoing matters. On May 26, 2025, Fuentes told Herrmann that Gleason had driven past the restaurant and her home multiple times. Gleason was under court order to remain more than 300 feet from Fuentes.

Although the road in front of the restaurant measured less than 200 feet from her workplace, the call was classified as "not a violation," according to the internal review. Herrmann informed Fuentes that Gleason would violate the order near her house, yet he never created an incident report for further investigation by other officers.

"There should have been an incident report taken for a Violation of a Protective Order by Officer Herrmann. The report by Fuentes should have been fully investigated to determine if there was probable cause to charge Gleason with violating the protective order by driving by the residence or her place of work," the review states. "Since the reported driving by the residence violation was not documented in the call for service, a supervisory review of this call would not have flagged this situation or caused further investigation by a supervisor."