WEBSTER — A Massachusetts man already out on bail for allegedly trying to burn a house down is back behind bars after police say he carried out a violent assault inside an apartment and was found with a shotgun whose serial number had been scratched off.

Jeremy Ouellette, 44, was arrested Sunday afternoon after Webster police responded to reports that a victim had been beaten, choked and cut during a confrontation at the Hartley Terrace Apartment Complex.

According to Webster Police, the attack unfolded around 12:30 p.m. on March 1 when officers were called to the complex for a report of a violent assault. Investigators say Ouellette repeatedly struck the victim in the head, kicked down a door, choked the person and slashed them with a box cutter, leaving the victim with a laceration to the hip.

Police were also told Ouellette was armed with a firearm — believed to be a shotgun or rifle — and was known to have a history of violent offenses.

Officers from the day and evening shifts surrounded the building and established a perimeter around the apartment.

Webster Police Officer Joshua Collins then made contact with Ouellette through the apartment’s security surveillance system and persuaded him to surrender, authorities said.

Ouellette exited the building a short time later and was taken into custody without incident.

Detectives later obtained a search warrant for the apartment. Environmental Police Officer Arthur O’Connell and his K-9 partner Tonka — a dog trained to detect firearms — were brought in to assist with the search.

According to police, Tonka alerted investigators to the presence of a weapon inside the apartment. Officers then located a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun hidden beneath a sofa.

Authorities say the firearm’s serial number had been scratched off, making it unreadable.

Police also say Ouellette does not possess a firearms permit in any state and is a convicted felon.

Ouellette now faces a series of charges, including assault and battery on a family or household member, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, improper storage of a firearm, and armed career criminal level three — a designation used in Massachusetts when a defendant with three prior violent or drug convictions is accused of illegally possessing a gun.

The arrest comes while Ouellette was already under indictment in Worcester Superior Court for a separate 2025 case in which prosecutors say he attempted to burn a house down and assaulted police officers during his arrest.

At the time of Sunday’s incident, police say Ouellette had been released on bail in that case and was wearing an electronic monitoring device.

Authorities say he has previously served time in both state prison and the Worcester County House of Correction for firearms, robbery-related offenses and other violent crimes.

All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.