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Parents worst nightmare: Salem State University student dies in shooting

An 18-year-old student at Salem State University was killed in an early-morning shooting Wednesday, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said. The shooting happened near 22 Forest Ave. shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, the office stated. The area where the shooting occurred is adjacent to Salem State University, which posted a statement on its X account at 5:44 a.m. “There is an ongoing police investigation due to a shooting on Forest Ave near Lussier Street,” the statement reads. “There is no ongoing threat and our campus is safe and open.” Responding officers found the student, Carl Hens Beliard, inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds. He was brought to Salem Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the district attorney’s office. Early findings suggest the shooting was not a random act. Authorities are still looking for a suspect, according to the office. “Our hearts are very much with the Beliard family and the Salem State University family,” Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said. “Violence such as this has no place in Salem, and we will pursue the perpetrators with all of our ability and determination.” Salem State University President John Keenan added, “As both the Salem State president and a college dad, this tragedy is heartbreaking for all in our community and every parent’s worst nightmare.” The shooting is being investigated by members of the Essex County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit and detectives from the Salem Police Department.

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crime

1 fatality from 3-alarm morning fire in Cambridge - Boston News, Weather, Sports

Crime Adult woman who allegedly posed as Boston student pleads not guilty Prosecutors say Shelby Hewitt, 32, enrolled in Boston schools and posed as both a ninth grade and seventh grade student. Shelby Hewitt, 32, was arraigned in West Roxbury Municipal Court in July on several charges including four counts of document forgery, two counts of uttering a false writing, and one count of identity fraud. Alysa Guffey/Handout Accused of posing as a Boston Public Schools student, a former Massachusetts social worker pleaded not guilty to fraud and forgery charges Tuesday as prosecutors revealed an alleged trail of fake documents and personas that made up her purported scheme. Shelby Hewitt, 32, allegedly posed as a child and enrolled herself in several Boston schools — first as a ninth grader and later as a seventh grader, according to court documents. “In reality, the defendant was a woman in her early thirties who had attended both college and graduate school and was employed as a social worker,” prosecutors said in a statement of facts filed in court. Advertisement: Hewitt is charged with three counts of document forgery, two counts of common law forgery, and one count each of uttering false or forged records, identity fraud, larceny over $1,200, and violating public employee standards of conduct. She was previously arraigned in West Roxbury Municipal Court and released on $5,000 bail in July; her indictment last month bumped the case up to Suffolk Superior Court. Boston.com has reached out to Hewitt’s lawyer, Timothy Flaherty, for comment. According to The Boston Globe, Flaherty told the court in July that Hewitt has “a long-standing lifelong, well-documented history” of mental health challenges. Court docs: Hewitt pretended to be ‘an extremely traumatized child’ Officials allege that between Dec. 6, 2021 and Feb. 3, 2023, Hewitt “engaged in an elaborate pattern of fraudulent conduct while working as a state employee” for the Department of Children and Families. Prosecutors say she pretended to be a teen in DCF custody and obtained special education services by posing as a child in need — all while collecting her salary from the state. According to court documents, Hewitt resigned from DCF on Feb. 6, 2023. She allegedly went to great lengths to set up her scheme, purchasing a domain from GoDaddy.com for “@masstate.us” — similar to the “@state.ma.us” that appears in many state employees’ email addresses. Hewitt then used the domain to create two fictional DCF social worker identities, “Michael Kornetsky” and “Michelle Delfi,” prosecutors said. Advertisement: “Posing behind the keyboard as one of these DCF workers, the defendant got herself admitted as a child patient to the Walden Behavioral Treatment Center and enrolled herself in BPS,” according to the statement of facts. She continued to lay the groundwork for her scheme throughout 2022, according to the court document. That fall, she allegedly enrolled herself as a 16-year-old student at Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester, then requested a transfer to Brighton High School due to unspecified “concerns” with the administration at Burke. In the beginning of June 2023, she allegedly enrolled herself under a different name, this time as a 13-year-old at English High School in Jamaica Plain. “The defendant created multiple names and dates of birth for herself and propagated an intricate — but false — narrative of an extremely traumatized child with significant special educational and emotional needs,” according to the statement of facts. Prosecutors allege that Hewitt forged several documents to perpetuate her scheme, including DCF placement letters and Middlesex Juvenile Court records bearing different names and birthdays. One of her two assumed aliases was the name of a real person — a child in DCF custody, according to court documents. Advertisement: Hewitt’s alleged ruse was discovered in June, when a man posing as Hewitt’s father told staff at English High School that he was going to transfer her to a new school due to bullying, Boston.com previously reported. A BPS administrator reportedly took a closer look at her registration paperwork and realized it was suspicious. On Tuesday, Hewitt was released on the bail she had previously posted. She was ordered to stay away from any witnesses in her case, all schools, and the Walden Behavioral Health Center, to refrain from practicing social work, and to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18. She is due back in court on Feb. 2, court records show.

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crime

Man Survives Six Days Trapped in Pickup Truck Wreckage

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - One person is dead after a 3-alarm fire in Cambridge Tuesday morning. Officers responded to a 4-story brick building on Chester Street before 5 a.m. after heavy fire was reported in a first floor apartment. Cambridge Fire Chief Thomas Cahill confirmed one fatality from the blaze; the individual was found dead by firefighters inside the structure. Authorities said they had to conduct multiple rescues to get residents out safely. They estimated between 30 and 40 people have been displaced by the fire. . One firefighter was taken to hospital for minor injuries and is expected to fully recover. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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State sues Nazis for being violent goons across eastern Massachusetts

Two men near Portage, Ind., were scouting a creek for potential fishing spots on Tuesday when they spotted a shiny object through the trees. They moved closer and saw that it was a mangled vehicle. One of the men, Mario Garcia, said that he looked inside, pushed aside the airbag and found what he thought was a lifeless body. But upon touch, a young man, still alive, awoke. “He was very happy to see us,” Mr. Garcia said at a news conference. “I’ve never seen a relief like that.” The driver, Matthew R. Reum, 27, of Mishawaka, Ind., had been trapped in the crumpled 2016 Ram truck for six days, according to the authorities.

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crime

Photos show extent of W. Bridgewater crash involving police cruiser

Massachusetts State Police posted photos Saturday of an overnight crash that injured a trooper and two others on Route 24 in West Bridgewater. “At about 1 a.m. today a trooper had stopped a car on Route 24 in West Bridgewater and was out of his cruiser when the cruiser was hit by a drunk driver operating a pickup truck,” said a State Police post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The cruiser was pushed into the trooper, causing injuries, and the driver was arrested, the post continued. Attached were two photos — one of which showed the damage to the cruiser and the other that showed the pickup truck. A pickup truck State Police say was driven by a drunk driver who struck a police cruiser that had stopped another vehicle. (Massachusetts State Police photo)Massachusetts State Police photo The driver was charged with OUI-liquor in connection with the Saturday morning crash on Route 24. The trooper and two others were taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton afterward for treatment for minor injuries, according to WCVB. The trooper reported his cruiser was hit during a traffic stop on the southbound side of the highway around 12:40 a.m. Saturday, WCVB reported. The multi-vehicle crash caused Route 24 to be closed. Traffic was rerouted to Route 123 via Exit 31B, MassDOT said in a post to X. The state agency warned of delays. Reporting from Jackson Cote was used in this report.

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Suspects appear in court after police chase that ended in South Boston - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - A 23-year-old Bridgewater woman and a 30-year-old Malden man appeared in court Tuesday, one day after a chaotic police chase come to a close in South Boston. The chase ended Monday night around 11 p.m. Prosecutors later laid out allegations against Kailyn Almeida and Christopher Meade, who are now facing multiple charges linked to the chase. State police said the pursuit started in Dorchester when a trooper spotted a white SUV matching the description of a vehicle tied to a shooting in Braintree. The trooper tried to pull the car over, according to police. But Almeida, who police said was behind the wheel, allegedly took off. Police said Meade was in the passenger seat as the chase continued. Speaking in court, a prosecutor said police at one point set up a barricade. Rather than stop, though, the prosecutor said Almeida slammed her SUV into a parked cruiser and drove away on a sidewalk and grass, “narrowly avoiding multiple accidents.” Prosecutors said troopers eventually stopped the SUV at gunpoint and took Meade and Almeida into custody near F Street and 1st Street in South Boston. Police were spotted swarming the area late Monday night and a gun was recovered near the heavily-damaged car. Less than 24 hours after his client’s arrest, Almeida’s lawyer in court told the judge she has no prior record, adding that the car involved in this incident is not hers. Almeida’s lawyer further questioned whether the car was even tied to the prior crime. “When the vehicle finally comes to a stop, they order Ms. Almeida to remain in the vehicle, to exit the vehicle,” the lawyer said. “She complies with both of those requests. At that point, the co-defendant is alleged to have taken off and fled the area.” Almeida has been charged with a series of motor vehicle offenses including assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless driving. Meade, who prosecutors said is on probation with several outstanding warrants, is facing several drug and firearms charges. A not guilty plea was entered on the defendants’ behalf Tuesday. It was also revealed that the two share a five-year-old daughter. Almeida was being held on $2,500 bail Tuesday afternoon. If she makes bail, she will be under house arrest and will have to wear a GPS monitor. Meade was being held without bail until his next court appearance next week. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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crime

Groton school on lockdown after student threatens to bring gun

A student’s threat to bring a gun to a Groton high school on Tuesday resulted in a lockdown of the campus while police conducted a sweep, Massachusetts State Police told MassLive. At around 11:18 a.m., Groton police requested a Massachusetts State Police K9 unit after a student made the threat. State Police sent three K9 unit teams, three dogs and their handlers, “specially trained to detect residue related to ballistics (and) firearms,” State Police said. By 1:15 p.m., Groton police said no firearms were found and announced that students would be released from school at the normal dismissal time, according to a post on Facebook. Just under 20 minutes later, the K9 units and handlers finished their sweep and left the campus, State Police said. Read more: Boston man pleads guilty to fatal stabbing of man protecting girlfriend Groton police will continue to investigate the matter, as they are aware who the student who made the threat is, State Police added.

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crime

U.S. Naval Officer Is Released From Jail in Japan After Yearslong Effort

The state Attorney General's office today sued the state's home-grown Nazi group and two of its leaders on civil-rights and conspiracy charges for using violence and intimidation against drag-queen story hours, immigrants and just random people over the past couple of years, including in Jamaica Plain, the Seaport and on a pedestrian bridge over Storrow Drive. In the suit, filed today in Suffolk Superior Court, the state says it's suing the Nationalist Social Club and leaders Christopher Hood of Newburyport and Liam McNeil of Waltham for "their escalating violations of the state’s civil rights laws, and the disruptions to public peace and safety caused by their unlawful conduct" that also includes "patrols" of MBTA trains and random neighborhoods. The lawsuit seeks a court order barring the Nazis from continuing to act like Nazis, specifically by barring them from continuing to be a "public nuisance" and from trespassing on both public and private property, along with sufficient monetary damages to make them think twice about acting out on their racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic impulses. Defendants have recently and repeatedly engaged in violent, threatening, intimidating, and coercive conduct that has interfered with the exercise of rights secured by state and federal law; unlawfully obstructed access to public accommodations, including libraries and hotels; and damaged, defaced, and unlawfully intruded upon property throughout Massachusetts. Since 2020, Defendants have engaged in an escalating campaign of unlawful conduct as they have attempted to "shut down" groups and activities that they deem harmful to the interests of white New Englanders. Defendants have recently carried out a series of violent and otherwise unlawful Club actions targeting those they have designated "enemies of our people. Among these Club actions, Defendants have repeatedly attempted to disrupt public events organized by LGBTQ+ groups, and interfere with the provision of emergency shelter to recent immigrants at local hotels through the Commonwealth's Emergency Housing Assistance program. Defendants have also periodically carried out vigilante "patrols" in cities and towns across the Commonwealth. During these patrols, NSC members – some carrying dangerous weapons – have hunted for "anti-White" activity in residential neighborhoods, and trespassed upon and "tagged" public and private property to claim territory for the Club. Defendants' conduct during these targeted actions, patrols, and other Club activities has repeatedly and substantially interfered with the public peace, safety, comfort, and convenience. The complaint cites numerous examples of public Nazi violence and threats by the roughly 30-member group, including a failed attempt to stop a drag-queen story hour at the Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain on July 23, 2022: After approximately an hour and a half, the NSC members left the sidewalk outside the Loring Greenough House and began walking toward the parking lot where they had left their cars. After traveling about half a block, several Club members broke away from the main group and crossed the street – moving away from the parking lot – to confront the protesters at close range. This conduct provoked an escalating conflict that continued back across the street and culminated in a street fight involving Defendant Hood in Greenough Avenue. Multiple police officers were forced to intervene to break up the fight. After the event, NSC posted a video to its social media accounts in which it threatened that those organizing and supporting future Story Hour events would "BE ALLOWED NO PEACE, NO REST, AND NO FUTURE IN NEW ENGLAND"; stated that, as a result of Club members' activities at the Loring Greenough House, "POLICE ESCORTED THE DRAG QUEEN OUT THE BACK DOOR"; and reaffirmed that members would continue to attempt to "DISRUPT AND SHUT DOWN" Story Hour events in Massachusetts. The khaki-clad thugs were more successful the next month in shutting down a similar event on Harbor Way in the Seaport: The Story Hour was canceled by organizers due to safety concerns after approximately twenty NSC members arrived in a group and lined up in formation immediately in front of the public entrance to the building. The complaint also cites the way the masked Nazis roughed up a woman who was walking on the Fairfield Street pedestrian bridge over Storrow Drive and tried to pull up the white-supremacist banner they had just unfurled on Feb. 12, 2022: At one point, a pedestrian crossing the bridge objected to the NSC members' conduct and began recording their activities using a cell phone. In response, at least one NSC member began to follow the pedestrian across the bridge. When the pedestrian reached approximately the halfway point over the bridge, another Club member let go of the section of banner he was holding and performed a Nazi salute at the pedestrian as she was approaching. The pedestrian briefly stopped and grabbed the section of banner next to the member, attempting to pull it loose from the railing. Three more NSC members then charged at the pedestrian and began shouting in her face, surrounding her and forcing her up against the railing of the bridge. One of the NSC members then swung at the pedestrian, striking her in the arm and knocking the phone out of her hand onto the bridge. More recently, the group ran similar intimidating pickets outside Boston-area hotels used by the state to house the influx of immigrants shipped up here by southern states, the complaint continues. The complaint details what happened on Nov. 13, 2022, when the Nazis were thwarted in their effort to gain entry to the Anarchist Book Fair in Cambridge - they decided to bully passersby across the street: One Club member approached a man who was pushing his small children in a stroller and began shouting and aggressively gesturing in the man's face. Another Club member charged across the street, gesturing at another pedestrian and screaming, "You want to punch a fucking Nazi? Come on motherfucker! What? Yeah, back up bitch! Get the fuck out of here you bitch!" The complaint details what it says is the planning that goes into the group's outbursts: In advance of Club activities, NSC members regularly scout targeted locations in order to familiarize themselves with the area. Defendants use the information gathered to develop operational tactics and create detailed "planning graphics" that identify parking and gathering points, primary and contingency access and exit routes, and potential chokepoints or danger areas near targeted locations. At the direction of the Club’s leadership, NSC members generally wear a standard "uniform" during sanctioned public activities. This uniform consists of khaki pants; black shirts or jackets; black ski masks, balaclavas or neck gaiters; and black or khaki hats. 33. During Club activities, NSC members regularly seek out and attempt to instigate fights and other physical confrontations. To prepare Club members to engage in physical violence, Defendants periodically organize and provide combat and weapons trainings during which members practice fighting and engaging in coordinated maneuvers. NSC members engage in aggressive and violent conduct during Club activities in an attempt to intimidate their "enemies" and to generate material for propaganda and recruiting videos. It adds: Since 2020, Defendants have repeatedly posted videos and images to NS'’s social media accounts that have featured Club members carrying out assaults, fighting, and engaging in other physical confrontations. Defendants have given these videos and images titles such as "Join the Club" and "The Life," and labeled Club members who engage in physical violence as the “Bully Squad.” Complete complaint (1.6M PDF).

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crime

Ohio Woman Who Miscarried Faces Charge That She Abused Corpse

A grand jury in Ohio is considering whether to indict a woman who miscarried a nonviable fetus at home and has been charged with abuse of a corpse in what experts say is an extremely rare interpretation of a state law. The woman, Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, Ohio, was arrested in October after passing a fetus in her bathroom and trying to flush the remains down the toilet. The case has been before a Trumbull County grand jury since November. If convicted, Ms. Watts could face up to a year in prison. She has pleaded not guilty. The grand jury was expected to give its report on Wednesday, but Guy M. Vogrin, a spokesman for the Trumbull County prosecutor, said the case had been continued until the next session in a couple weeks. The reason for the postponement was unclear as grand jury proceedings are secret. Although records show that Ms. Watts spontaneously miscarried, a finding that the state has not challenged, the case has come under scrutiny by lawyers and reproductive health advocates who say that prosecuting her is baseless and may deter other women who miscarry from obtaining medical attention they need.

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crime

10-Year-Old Arrested for Public Urination Was Treated Like an Adult Criminal, Lawyer Says

The mother of a 10-year-old Mississippi boy who was arrested after urinating behind her car is refusing to sign a probation agreement because the terms that were set are of a severity typically reserved for adults, the family’s lawyer said Thursday. The 90-day probation agreement stipulated that the boy, Quantavious Eason, who is Black, would have to submit to random drug tests, observe an 8 p.m. curfew and meet with a probation officer once a month, among other requirements, according to Carlos Moore, the lawyer. The boy would also be required to write a two-page report on Kobe Bryant, Mr. Moore said. Latonya Eason, the boy’s mother, had initially agreed to the probation during a hearing in Tate County Chancery Court on Dec. 12, but upon reading the full terms and consulting with Mr. Moore this week, she decided not to sign and instead to fight for the charge to be dismissed, he said. NBC News reported on the case this week. “This boy is not a criminal,” Mr. Moore said. “He should not have to go through all of this.” The legal battle stems from an encounter that Quantavious and his mother had with the police on Aug. 10 in Senatobia, Miss., a small city 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The family, which lives in a neighboring county, believes the manner in which the police treated the boy stemmed from racism.

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crime

Perfectly tragic: Mother grieves son amid record year of violence in Springfield

Alexander “AJ” Cotton sent a text on the night of April 12 about how he wanted to surprise his daughter and bring her to school the next day. He never got the chance to see his daughter again.

27bab8c2096b87668c1eb4b63e4961a3

crime

Police investigating multi-vehicle crash in Avon that left 3 people seriously injured - Boston News, Weather, Sports

AVON, MASS. (WHDH) - State police are investigating a violent crash early Sunday morning in Avon that left three people hospitalized with serious injuries. Troopers responding to a reported three-vehicle crash on the southbound side of Route 24 around 1:30 a.m. found three seriously injured people, two of whom had been ejected from their vehicles, according to state police. The driver of the first vehicle, a 24-year-old Dorchester woman, was taken to a Boston hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the second vehicle, a 28-year-old Dorchester woman, was life-flighted to a hospital in Burlington with serious injuries. The driver of the third vehicle, a 19-year-old Lakeville man, was taken to a Boston hospital with serious injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. No additional information was immediately available. This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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crime

Transit police nab man accused of trying to smash ATM with shovel - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - Transit police arrested a Boston man accused of tying to smash his way into an ATM with a shovel at Ashmont Station. Officers responding to a report of a person trying to break into an ATM with a shovel around 6 a.m. Saturday learned the suspect had fled in a vehicle, which was later spotted on Dorchester Avenue, according to transit police. The suspect, whose name was not released, was taken into custody. No additional information was immediately available. 12/30 6AM #MBTA Ashmont. Outstanding police work results in the arrest of Dorchester man who attempted to break into the ATM w/a shovel. SP fled in a vehicle. An eagle eyed TPD off spotted the V on Dot Ave. SP placed into custody-TPDHQ for booking. SP also had warrants. pic.twitter.com/SefLK0QF9v — MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) December 30, 2023 (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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crime

Karen Read case: Canton residents vote to review police department

The town’s Select Board “has already indicated its intent to proceed with review of the police department,” Finance Committee Chair Cindy Thomas said during the meeting. The article passed 903-800 during a nearly four-hour meeting that drew a large and boisterous crowd. It calls for the town’s procurement officer or a designee “to proceed with an administrative, policy, procedures and compliance review” of the department “to be conducted by an independent consulting firm,” according to a video stream of the meeting. Residents voted in favor of an outside review of the Canton Police Department during a special Town Meeting on Monday night, as controversy continues to swirl around a murder investigation in the town. Advertisement The vote came amid allegations of police corruption in Canton related to the investigation into the 2022 death of Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, whose girlfriend, Karen Read, has been indicted by a Norfolk County grand jury on charges of murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Get Breaking News Alerts Stay up-to-date with important news developments, delivered right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Read’s attorneys insist that she is innocent and allege police engaged in a coverup of O’Keefe’s killing. In response, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, whose office is prosecuting the Read case, issued an unusual video rebuttal, condemning those “absolutely baseless” allegations. “It should be an outrage to any decent person — and it needs to stop,” said Morrissey, who released a three-page transcript of the statement in August along with the video. “Innuendo is not evidence. False narratives are not evidence.” Conspiracy theories about the case have been amplified by the Turtleboy website, whose primary author, Aidan Kearney, was charged last month by a special prosecutor for allegedly harassing multiple witnesses in the Read case. Kearny has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The article that passed in Canton on Monday night also establishes a committee consisting of the procurement officer or a designee, two members designated by the residents who petitioned for the motion, and two members of the community “at large” as nominated or selected by the procurement officer. Advertisement A maximum cost of $200,000 is set for the review, according to the approved motion, and a public report on the “process and outcome of the procurement” will be available once the committee has hired an outside investigator. The motion had 307 petitioners, according to a warrant posted online for Monday’s special meeting. The phrasing of the motion was changed from the posted warrant to a new version presented by the town’s financial committee after discussion with petitioners, which was approved by the petitioners and later chosen by voters. Three rooms in Canton High School were allocated for the meeting: the auditorium for only Canton registered voters, the cafeteria for auditorium overflow, and the gymnasium for residents not from Canton and those not registered to vote, according to a layout posted on the town’s website. A separate area was also available for those who wanted to “rally.” Time allotted for public comment often turned contentious. Many shouts, boos, or yells from the crowd led to gavel bangs and calls for “order.” Some who were in favor of the article said they support the police but still called for an independent review. Some people opposing the measure said what it proposed was already covered by current procedures. Advertisement Other motions included in the warrant were withdrawn without prejudice. A motion to move annual municipal elections to November failed. Breanne Kovatch can be reached at breanne.kovatch@globe.com. Follow her @breannekovatch. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.

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crime

Women at Fast-Growing Realty Firm Say They Were Drugged and Assaulted

It was a declaration of eXp’s culture: Work hard, play harder — and build wealth in the process. But in more than 30 interviews with current and former eXp agents, women said the culture has an underbelly. The company’s highest earners are granted star status, and allegations of misconduct are ignored. In two lawsuits, the first filed in February and the second on Thursday, five women described a yearslong pattern of predatory behavior by two marquee agents. The women said the agents drugged them during alcohol-soaked eXp events, and four of the women said they were then sexually assaulted. Executives ignored complaints about the men for years, acting only after the first lawsuit was filed, agents said. In addition, current and former agents said the company ignored allegations about other sexual misconduct, and the company has not changed its culture. eXp Realty has a unique structure — agents are recruited by other agents who then take a cut of their earnings, so everyone is funneling money to people above them. That means there is little incentive to root out high earners even when they are accused of assault, women said. “Everyone is just a recruiter. They’re not there to sell homes and represent the client,” said Tricia Turner, 53, a Houston broker who left eXp in August. “The ones that grow their teams the fastest are the center of attention for the company and the cheerleaders for the company. And unfortunately, it’s like they can do no wrong.”

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crime

Authorities investigating deadly shooting at Lawrence bar - Boston News, Weather, Sports

LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at a bar in Lawrence early Sunday morning. Officers responding to a reported shooting at Energy Lounge on Broadway around 12:20 a.m. found a 29-year-old man who was suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office. He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released. The shooting remains under investigation. This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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28 people facing charges in connection with brothel bust - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - The U.S. Attorney’s office is now seeking charges against 28 people in connection with a brothel bust in the Boston area. In November, three people accused of operating “sophisticated high-end brothels” in parts of Massachusetts and eastern Virginia were taken into custody following a federal investigation, authorities said. Officials believe the network had clients who included “elected officials, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, attorneys, scientists and accountants, among others.” “Pick a profession – they’re probably represented in this case,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said during a news conference in November. Arrested in November were: Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, Mass., Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Mass., and James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif. Investigators allege the defendants rented high-end apartments in the Boston area to be used as brothels. They also say there will be accountability for the buyers who fuel the commercial sex industry. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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crime

Is Shoplifting Really Surging?

Is the U.S. in the middle of a shoplifting wave? Target and other retail chains have warned of widespread theft. News outlets have amplified the story. On social media, people have posted videos of thieves looting stores. But the increase in shoplifting appears to be limited to a few cities, rather than being truly national. In most of the country, retail theft has been lower this year than it was a few years ago, according to police data. There are some exceptions, particularly New York City, where shoplifting has spiked. But outside New York, shoplifting incidents in major cities have fallen 7 percent since 2019, before the Covid pandemic. Why has the issue nonetheless received so much attention? Today’s newsletter tries to answer that question while taking a deeper look at recent shoplifting trends. The data The various sources of crime data — from government agencies and private groups — tell a consistent story. Retail theft has not spiked nationwide in the past several years. If anything, it appears less common in most of the country than it was before the pandemic.

718656bf91548a42ae9f6ae6e863dfe2

crime

Lawsuit Claims James Dolan Pressured Woman Into Sex

A woman filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing James L. Dolan, the entertainment and sports mogul behind Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks, of pressuring her into unwanted sex and then coordinating an encounter with Harvey Weinstein, whom she accused of sexually assaulting her. The woman, Kellye Croft, says in the court filing that she told Mr. Dolan — a former friend and business associate of Mr. Weinstein’s — about the alleged incident after it occurred in early 2014, years before Mr. Dolan made public statements that he had been unaware of Mr. Weinstein’s history of misconduct. In her suit, filed in Federal District Court in Los Angeles, Ms. Croft says that in late 2013, when she was 27, she was hired to work as a massage therapist on a tour by the classic rock band Eagles. Mr. Dolan — who moonlights as a blues-rock musician — was an opening act with his band JD & the Straight Shot. In court papers, Ms. Croft describes the experience as a dream gig that went awry because of the misconduct of two men who were among the most powerful figures in media and entertainment. First, Ms. Croft’s suit says, she was pressured into unwanted sex with Mr. Dolan, and then found herself alone in a Beverly Hills hotel room with Mr. Weinstein, who chased her down a hallway, held her down and penetrated her against her will.

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Texas man pleads guilty to threatening Boston doctor over transgender care

Advertisement Texas man pleads guilty to threatening Boston doctor who provided care to transgender people Share Copy Link Copy Federal authorities in Massachusetts say a Texas man has pleaded guilty to threatening a Boston doctor who is affiliated with the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center and provided care for members of the transgender community. Matthew Jordan Lindner, 39, of Comfort, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston's federal court to one count of interstate transmission of threatening communication, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.Prosecutors said Lindner called the Boston-based National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center on Aug. 31, 2022, and left a threatening voicemail that targeted one of the center's affiliated doctors.The U.S. Attorney's Office said Lindner made the call at a time when social media vitriol was being directed at health care providers who served transgender patients and when inaccurate information was being spread online regarding procedures doctors at Boston Children's Hospital were performing for gender-nonconforming children.Authorities claim that in the voicemail, Lindner said, in part: "You're all gonna burn. There's a group of people on their way to handle . You signed your own warrant, . Castrating our children. You've woken up enough people and upset enough of us. And you signed your own ticket."Prosecutors said Lindner continued to try to contact the doctor after leaving the threatening voicemail, including calling the doctor's former medical practice and a university where she was a faculty member."Doctors who serve pediatric patients, including the victim in this case and staff at Boston Children’s Hospital, have dedicated their professional lives to treating children. They should be celebrated for their contributions to so many in their time of need. Instead, this defendant threatened a doctor with violence just for doing her job," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. "This conduct is deplorable and sends a chill through the medical community."Lindner was arrested in Texas and charged on Dec. 2, 2022. He was then indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston 13 days later."There is no way to undo the damage Matthew Lindner did to this physician, with his hateful, repulsive, and threatening behavior," stated Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. "No one should have to live in fear of violence because of who they are, what kind of work they do, or what they believe."Over the summer of 2022, doctors and other staffers at Boston Children's Hospital also received violent threats related to its medical care for transgender youth.Boston Children's is home to the first pediatric and adolescent transgender health program in the United States. It became the focus of far-right social media accounts, news outlets and bloggers in early August 2022 after they found informational YouTube videos published by the hospital about surgical offerings for transgender patients.The critics cited the videos and snippets of previous language on the hospital's website to claim that Boston Children's Hospital was improperly performing gender-affirming surgeries, such as hysterectomies, on minors and "young" children. The response was swift and relentless, with a barrage of users demanding the hospital be shut down and calling the surgeries "mutilation," "barbarism," and "child abuse," while accusing its doctors of engaging in malpractice or illegal activity.The hospital said it received "a large volume" of hostile online messages, phone calls and harassing emails, including threats of violence, during that time.The hospital subsequently removed the videos and updated language across its websites to emphasize that to qualify for most gender-affirming surgical procedures, patients must be at least 18 and meet certain criteria, including undergoing intensive medical and mental health evaluations and submitting letters of support.In September, 37-year-old Catherine Levy, of Westfield, faced federal charges in connection with an Aug. 30, 2022, bomb threat against Boston Children's Hospital that also referenced the transgender program. In September of this year, Levy pleaded guilty to one count of making a false bomb threat and one count of intentionally conveying false or misleading information that a bomb was on the way to the hospital.In November, Boston Children's Hospital received a bomb threat via email that referenced the hospital's pediatric and adolescent transgender health program. The emailer also claimed bombs had been placed at the homes of three doctors.Senior U.S. District Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing in Lindner's case for Feb. 6, 2024.The charge of transmitting interstate threats provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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5 Takeaways From the Federal Report on the Uvalde Massacre

More than a year and a half after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the Justice Department on Thursday published a painstaking and independent examination of the law enforcement response, finding broad and “unimaginable” failures that delayed medical care to the victims. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed, and at least 17 others were wounded. Officers took 77 minutes to confront and kill the gunman, who was contained with his victims inside a pair of connected classrooms at Robb Elementary School. “People would have survived,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said, had there been a swifter response. The 600-page report describes, in often-minute detail, the breakdown in leadership, training, coordination and communication among the large number of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that arrived at the scene.

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Services planned for Bradley Haas, officer killed in N.H. hospital shooting

A celebration of life has been scheduled for a 63-year-old former police chief from Franklin, New Hampshire who was shot and killed at New Hampshire State Hospital earlier this month. The celebration for Bradley Haas will be held at Winnisquam Regional High School, located at 435 W. Main St. in Tilton, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, according to a release from the New Hampshire Department of Safety. Parking will be available at Smitty’s Cinema, located at 630 W. Main St., and shuttles will bring people to and from the service, NHDS said. While the celebration of life is open to the public, a private burial is reserved for family. “The heroism and public service of Bradley Haas undoubtedly saved numerous lives,” said Gov. Chris Sununu, who directed that all flags in the state be lowered to half-staff on Monday. “For decades, Chief Haas went to work each day with the protection of the community as his driver,” Sununu continued. “He died in the services of others — saving others. Valerie and I join with our fellow Granite Staters in remembering his heroism.” Haas, a New Hampshire Department of Safety security officer, was shot in the line of duty while working security at the front lobby entrance of New Hampshire Hospital in Concord around 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 17, according to a statement from state Attorney General John M. Formella. He was given CPR at the scene, taken to Concord Hospital and died, New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall said at a press conference the same night as the shooting. A father and law enforcement veteran, Haas was the chief of police in Franklin, New Hampshire, his hometown, until his retirement in 2008. The 63-year-old Franklin man worked in the town’s police department for 28 years, starting as a patrol officer after serving three years as a military police officer in the United States Army, according to Formella. After retiring, Haas “continued to dedicate his time to the NH community by serving as a security officer helping and protecting those at the NH State Hospital,” the Franklin Police Department said in a Facebook post on Nov. 18. Hundreds gathered at a soccer field less than half a mile from New Hampshire Hospital Monday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor the life and service of Haas, The Boston Globe New Hampshire reported. “If that level of sacrifice and service isn’t the definition of heroism, I don’t know what is,” Sununu said according to the outlet. At 3:38 p.m. Nov. 17, state police received a call about an active shooter at New Hampshire Hospital. Upon entering the lobby, the shooter shot Haas, who later died, Hall detailed at the press conference. A state trooper, who was assigned to the hospital and was nearby, immediately engaged and shot and killed the shooter. The shooting was contained to the lobby, according to Hall. The name of the shooter was not immediately released by authorities to the public. The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, the attorney general said in his statement.

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21 Injured in Explosion at Fort Worth Hotel

Lt. Ridge Alkonis, a Navy officer who was imprisoned in Japan after killing two members of a Japanese family in a car crash, returned to the United States this week after a yearslong diplomatic effort to bring him home, Biden administration officials said. Lieutenant Alkonis, 35, who was released from prison in Japan after serving half his sentence for negligent driving, was in Los Angeles under Federal Bureau of Prisons custody, a senior administration official said Thursday. Under the terms of the International Prisoner Transfer Program, set in place by a treaty between the United States and Japan, he was likely to continue serving his sentence in the United States, administration officials said. The length of his incarceration will be set by the U.S. Parole Commission, an independent part of the Justice Department, officials said. The commission could reduce his sentence or allow him to serve part of it in home confinement. Lieutenant Alkonis will remain in detention in the United States until the commission makes its decision. The case involving Lieutenant Alkonis, a sailor stationed at the Yokosuka naval base, south of Tokyo, was set in motion in May 2021, when the minivan he was driving near Mount Fuji careened into the parking lot of a noodle restaurant, killing two people.

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Ray Epps, Target of Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theory, Is Sentenced to Probation

Ray Epps, the former Trump supporter who became a target of a conspiracy theory that he was an undercover government agent who helped to instigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, was sentenced on Tuesday to a year of probation for his own small role in the riot instead of the six months in prison that prosecutors had requested. The probation sentence, imposed after Mr. Epps had pleaded guilty last year to a single count of disorderly conduct stemming from his presence in the pro-Trump mob near the Capitol, brought his prosecution to a close. But it was unlikely to end the persistent false narrative that he was a provocateur out to entrap his fellow conservatives on Jan. 6 even though he, his lawyer, the prosecutor and even the judge overseeing the case all asserted in open court that the tale was preposterous. “Trust in elected officials and Fox News led to my gullibility in believing the election was stolen,” Mr. Epps told Judge James E. Boasberg in Federal District Court in Washington. “What I witnessed was rage and vulgarity on a level I’ve never seen before, and it was generated by people like me, not the F.B.I. or antifa.” Speaking in the same courthouse where former President Donald J. Trump was attending a federal appeals court hearing related to his prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election, Judge Boasberg told Mr. Epps, “While many defendants have been vilified in a way unique to Jan. 6, you seem to be the first to have suffered for what you didn’t do.”

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WATCH: State police helicopter helps locate suspects who allegedly fled police in Braintree - Boston News, Weather, Sports

At least 21 people were injured in an explosion that was most likely caused by a gas leak and substantially damaged a hotel in downtown Fort Worth on Monday afternoon, the authorities said. One person was in critical condition and four were seriously injured, the police said in an evening update. Fourteen people were transported to a hospital, and one person went to a hospital on their own, the police said. Earlier, the authorities had said that one person was missing, but they noted later that the person had been found.

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Man With No Ticket or Passport Flew From Copenhagen to Los Angeles, F.B.I. Says

He said he “might have had” a plane ticket to the United States, but was not sure, according to the affidavit. Mr. Ochigava also said he “did not remember how he got on the plane” and “would not explain how or when he got to Copenhagen, or what he was doing there,” the affidavit says. He also “claimed he did not remember how he went through security without a ticket,” it says. Mr. Ochigava was indicted by a federal grand jury last month on a charge of being a stowaway on an aircraft, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 26. His federal public defender, Erica Choi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, said the authorities believed that Mr. Ochigava was a Russian citizen and had not confirmed any legal status he might have in Israel. The documents in his possession indicate that he is 46 years old, Mr. Mrozek said. Lise Agerley Kürstein, a Copenhagen Airport representative, said that Mr. Ochigava was seen on airport surveillance images “without a valid ticket.” “Copenhagen Airport has provided photo and video material to the authorities who are investigating the case,” she said. “We take the matter very seriously, and it will be included in the work we continuously do to adjust and tighten our guidelines to improve security.”

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At Least 15 Dead in Czech Republic After Shooting at Prague University

Fourteen people were killed and more than 20 others wounded in a shooting rampage at Charles University in the Czech Republic on Thursday, the authorities said. The gunman, a 24-year-old student in world history at the university, also killed himself after the shooting spree in central Prague. The police say they believe he first killed his father in their family home in a village near the town of Kladno, outside of Prague, Ondrej Moravcik, a spokesman for the Czech police, said in an interview. Some of the injured were in critical condition, he added. The gunman was partly identified by the police as David K. European police officials often give only a first name and last initial for privacy reasons. Speaking at a news conference in Prague, the chief of the national police force, Martin Vondrasek, said the assailant “got inspired by a similar terrible event abroad.” He did not specify where. But the authorities said they did not believe that the gunman’s actions were connected to international or domestic terrorism.

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Alec Baldwin faces new indictment in 'Rust' movie set shooting

Alec Baldwin was charged anew with involuntary manslaughter after being indicted by a grand jury on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of "Rust" in 2021, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Halyna Hutchins while they were rehearsing a scene from the ill-fated Western in the New Mexico desert and the gun discharged. Baldwin's initial involuntary manslaughter charges were dropped last April, but prosecutors said they could be revived. "We look forward to our day in court," Baldwin's lawyers Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas told Fox News Digital on Friday.

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Boston EMS responds to reported stabbing near South Station

One person was rushed to the hospital after a reported stabbing near Boston's South Station, according to first responders. Boston Emergency Medical Services confirmed to NBC10 Boston that it responded to the South Station area for a reported stabbing shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. The person's condition was unclear. Additional details were not immediately available. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Police shot gun during hoax school shooting at St. Johns: Heres what happened

As Danvers police were sweeping a school during a swatting incident in May, a police officer’s gun went off when he was trying to holster his firearm in the school, officials said. The gunshot resulted “in increased response from area departments.” A newly released report states that Det. Christopher Gaffney, whose gun went off, tried to tell those outside the school that the gunshot was from him and that it was accidental. However, a fire-alarm made “radio transmissions difficult to send/receive from inside the building.” “A short time later, Detective Gaffney made contact with Lt. Sullivan. Lt. Sullivan was able to provide clarification through radio transmission that one shot had been discharged from the police. Lt. Sullivan also ensured that Detective Gaffney, nor any other officers/person was injured or in need of medical attention as a result of the discharge,” the report states. At around 1:45 p.m. on Monday, May 22, a call was made stating a person with a long gun intended to harm students at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, which was later proved to be a hoax. The report specifically targeted Brother Benjamin Hall on the St. John’s Prep campus, according to the school. The campus went into a lockdown. Four officers arrived on campus less than two minutes after being dispatched, the town said. It included two school resource officers, a detective and a patrol officer. At 1:49 p.m., state police said an “immediate entry” was made. While clearing Benjamin Hall, the officers went to a first-floor men’s bathroom. Three of the officers went inside the bathroom, while one waited in the hallway. While in the bathroom, Det. Christopher Gaffney began to put his gun into its holster, according to the town. That’s when the gun went off, the town stated. There were no students or faculty in or near the bathroom when the gun was shot, officials said. None of the officers were hurt. But the gunshot did result “in increased response from area departments.” Massachusetts State Police were then called to the school as an additional response to the gunshot. According to the report, Gaffney told Chief James Lovell “that he was 100% confident that his finger was not on the trigger of the firearm and that it was extended along the side of the barrel.” “He believed that his radio possibly interfered with successfully holstering his firearm,” the report states, adding that Gaffney was not wearing a police uniform and that he had clipped his portable radio to his belt behind his holster. Some of the students who heard the gunshot fled. Massachusetts State Police said they ran from the school to nearby woods or nearby backyards. Some of those students hid in nearby homes. “We are also deeply indebted to the surrounding community and to our neighbors, who graciously welcomed students onto their property into their homes as Monday’s events unfolded,” the school said in a statement. Parents and guardians were informed of the incident by email and text at 2:01 p.m., the school said. Students, staff and faculty continued to shelter in place until state police cleared the buildings. An all-clear was declared at 2:09 p.m. and “campus was deemed safe with no immediate danger,” the school said. In a video from the school, Lovell states that it appears Gaffney’s finger “is positioned along the side of his firearm, consistent with his training.” “At 5 minutes 39 seconds, Detective Gaffney’s firearm discharges. This is apparent by his reaction as well as the reaction from the other officers,” the report states. Detective Gaffney’s firearm is pointed in a downward direction, consistent with an attempt to holster. Detective Gaffney’s left leg can be seen buckling inward in response to the discharge.” After the incident, Gaffney requested to shoot at the department range prior to returning to duty, Lovell said. “In addition to shooting approximately 100 rounds, Sgt. [Steve] Baldassare conducted numerous movement and holstering drills with Detective Gaffney. Sgt. Baldassare reported that Detective Gaffney had no issues successfully completing any of these drills and that he has no concerns related to Detective Gaffney’s ability to proficiently handle and/or deploy his firearm,” the report reads. Although the only gunshot was an accident, Head of School Ed Hardiman said it was all still “traumatic.” “We appreciate your patience, understand your concerns and anxiety and ask that you please pray for the law enforcement people that are here, pray for our students and our staff and pray for each other as we realize this is a challenging and traumatic experience for everyone to go through,” Hardiman previously said in a video.

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At Art Fraud Trial, Sothebys Is Pressed on Role in Sales to Russian Oligarch

This season — the first without Pizzolatto, though he retains an executive producer credit — can be seen as a photo negative of the first. It is chilly rather than steamy, shadowed rather than sunlit, tundra-dry instead of humid. Despite occasional flashbacks, it restricts itself to a single timeline. In the first season, women appeared mostly as beleaguered wives or prostitutes. Here the gaze and the detectives are defiantly female. Is this still “True Detective”? While Pizzolatto was not available for comment, López argues that it is. This season retains what she sees as the series’s essentials: two detectives, shrouded in secrets and enmeshed in a landscape that holds secrets of its own. The series, she believes, favors a kind of expressionism in which the inner lives of the characters explode into the environment. “The darkness around them comes from inside of them,” she said. That’s certainly true of this season, though the earth’s axis may want to have a word. And if López exchanges the first season’s meditation on male toxicity and identity for a consideration of female victimhood and agency, she also returns the series to its roots in cosmic horror, even calling back to the certain Season 1 symbols, like the spiral. Orsi sometimes doubted the wisdom of having handed a marquee franchise to someone with little television experience, but López’s choices and attitude reassured her. “Every step of the way, I was taken aback by how confident she consistently was about what we were asking of her,” Orsi said. That confidence also inspired Foster, who hadn’t done substantive television work since her breakthrough role in the 1976 film “Taxi Driver.”

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A Mother, a Daughter, a Deadly Journey: An Update

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran. With mountains, intense mud, fast-running rivers and thick rainforest, the Darién Gap, a strip of terrain connecting South and Central America, is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. Over the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in the number of migrants passing through the perilous zone in the hopes of getting to the United States. Today, we hear the story of one family that’s risking everything to make it across.

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Cities like Holyoke already have drug injection sites; theyre just unsupervised and illegal

When someone overdoses on an opioid, their lips turn purple. Sometimes, their fingernails turn bluish-black. Blood drains from their face and their skin gets pale and clammy as they become trapped in a sort of sleep. Then, their breathing grows shallower and shallower until it stops. Last year, enough people to fill a large classroom, 27, died like this in Holyoke. That was up from six people dying in 2015, according to state data. Compared to 10 cities of similar size, Holyoke has the second-highest number of people dying from overdoses, behind Pittsfield. These cities are far from alone. Statewide, 2,310 people died from drug overdoses last year, according to the state Department of Public Health, including disproportionate numbers of Black and Hispanic people. If we allow this to continue, more than 20,000 Massachusetts people will be gone in 10 years. State legislators are considering a bill that could save some of these lives. The bill will allow cities and towns to opt in on the creation of consumption sites where people can use drugs. Medical professionals would help anyone who overdoses. Holyoke already has several consumption sites. They’re just unsupervised and illegal. People use drugs in abandoned buildings, parks and alleys. These are the places people die. I recently visited one of these illegal injection sites. It’s an alley a block away from the Holyoke Public Library. A man on a mountain bike was riding down the muddy leaf-scattered path littered with tiny plastic vials, used condoms and other trash, including a child’s stuffed animal. This alley near the Holyoke Public Library is used as an illegal drug injection site.Patrick O'Connor photo “Almost every person here uses,” said the man after stopping and pulling a scarf from his face. He quit using heroin over five years ago, he said. “I was a little different than everyone else around here,” he said, explaining how he was able to manage his use. “I did it like a prescription, every four to six hours.” The man, who did not want to give his name, was able to stop by weaning himself off the drug. He decided to quit because so many people were dying from fentanyl. “It’s not even dope anymore,” he said. “It’s all mixed with fentanyl and that horse tranquilizer stuff that’ll kill you dead.” He also quit because he was going to lose his home in Chicopee. “Losing my house was the main reason, but the fentanyl was the kicker,” he said. A block from the alley, Carlos Torres was trying to get warm in the library. The 31-year-old man graduated from Holyoke High School. He was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Holyoke with his mom when he was five. A family member was an abusive alcoholic. “When I was 16, he tried to stab my mom,” he said from a bench in front of the library. “I had to jump in and take the knife.” Torres started using heroin four years ago after breaking up with his partner and falling into a depression. He’s now in a methadone program. “Which is helping,” he said. “Now I’m working on trying to get out of being homeless.” As he spoke, a light snow fell. “Sometimes I’ll sleep in the park. Wherever I can,” he said. “I don’t know where I’m going to stay tonight.” Risks upon release Some people with drug issues find shelter in jails. According to state data, there were 6,410 drug possession crimes statewide in 2022; in Holyoke, 237. Today, there are about 100 people in the custody of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office for drug-related crimes, a quarter of them for drug possession. In the alley, the 58-year-old man said users face dangers when they’re released. “Their immune systems are down,” he said, agreeing that people sometimes overdose because their tolerance drops while being jailed. A study in North Carolina found that former inmate are “highly vulnerable to opioids and need urgent prevention measures.” In the 15 years the study covered, 1,329 former inmates died from an overdose. Locally, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office tries to stop such overdoses. “To reduce the risk of overdose upon release, and ensure that the people in our custody and care have the best chance at working toward long-term recovery, we offer a variety of addiction-treatment paths, including medication-assisted treatment,” Robert Rizzuto, senior public information officer for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, said in an email. Rizzuto said about one-third of people in custody receive medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder, which affects a person’s brain and behavior, leading to their inability to control their use of substances like legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. This year in Holyoke, Emergency Medical Services responded to 262 calls related to opioid-related emergencies, according to state data. A better way To stop more deaths, the Legislature is considering a bill that would give municipalities the authority to establish overdose prevention centers, also called injection or consumption sites. The bill asks for a 10-year pilot program establishing the centers, where there will be medical professionals to prevent overdose deaths. Graffiti in a Holyoke alley known for drug use.Patrick O'Connor photo These will be “hygienic spaces where participants may consume pre-obtained controlled substances,” according to the state bill. These centers would provide sterile injection supplies and ensure that hypodermic needles and syringes are disposed of properly. According to a Beacon Research poll, 70 percent of Massachusetts voters support this. Back at the library, Torres said he supports legal consumption sites. “I think it’s a good idea. It will keep drugs away from schools or parks with children,” he said, as students were being dismissed for the day across the street at H.B. Lawrence Elementary School. “It will be safer. Less people will overdose.” He agreed that consumption sites can keep people alive long enough to get healthy. Luckily, Torres has not overdosed or seen anyone who has. “Not yet,” he said.

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4 facing charges in Kowloon restaurant brawl on Thanksgiving eve

Three men and a woman have been charged in a fight that erupted the night before Thanksgiving at iconic Saugus, Massachusetts, restaurant Kowloon, police said Thursday. Saugus police identified the four people and the charges they face, and noted that a report was being prepared for the Saugus Board of Selectmen about the incident. That report wasn't available as of Thursday morning. The four people facing charges are: Rosaria Sophia McCauly, 32, of North Reading — she faces two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous and a count of disorderly conduct Arnold John Carey Marujo, 19, of Somerville — he faces an underage drinking charge and disorderly conduct Donovan Clark, 19, of Lynn — he faces an underage drinking charge, disorderly conduct and assault and battery Anthony John Micelli, 35, North Reading — he faces charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. The four were due to face their charges at Lynn District Court. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys who could speak to the charges. No arrests have been made but an investigation remains ongoing into the fight at Kowloon Restaurant. This breaking news story will be updated with more information.

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Crews respond to construction accident in downtown Boston - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - A construction accident injured two workers in Boston Friday afternoon, a witness said. Boston police said the accident happened at 750 Atlantic Avenue. SKY7-HD was over the scene, showing officials responding to the accident. The witness told 7News a metal beam fell and injured two workers on the roof of a garage that is under construction. No further information was immediately available. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced 4 years for misleading investors

Trevor Milton, the founder of electric truckmaker Nikola, has been sentenced Monday to four years in prison after a jury last year found him guilty of misleading investors about his company’s technology, according to reports. Milton, 41, was convicted in October 2022 on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, according to Reuters. The news agency reported that federal prosecutors in New York City said Milton duped investors by stating his company built its own truck from the "ground up" and developed its own batteries, despite knowing it was buying them instead, among other claims. Milton had made the statements on social media and in television and podcast interviews as the company was joining others in going public through special purpose acquisition vehicles, otherwise known as SPACs. CADILLAC UNVEILS NEW ALL-ELECTRIC VISTIQ SUV He then resigned from Nikola in 2020. Prosecutors last week urged U.S. District Judge Edgar Ramos to sentence Milton to around 11 years in prison, according to Reuters, which is about the same sentence disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes received for duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars on false promises that she had developed technology that would revolutionize health care. Stocks In This Article: NKLA $0.85 5.95% Milton’s attorneys told the judge in a filing in November that "[u]nlike Holmes, Trevor never put Nikola’s customers at risk, whereas Holmes touted and used blood-testing technology that she knew to be unreliable, thus putting human beings at medical risk," according to the Associated Press. UAW ACCUSES HONDA, HYUNDAI AND VOLKSWAGEN OF UNION-BUSTING "I did not intend to harm anyone and I did not commit those crimes levied against me," Milton reportedly said Monday during his sentencing hearing. After he learned of his sentence, Ramos told Milton, "As difficult as it may be for you or your family to hear, I believe the jury got it right," according to Reuters. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS In 2021, Nikola also agreed to pay $125 million to settle civil charges brought against the company by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the news agency added. FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

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Police: 76-year-old man extremely confused after driving the wrong way on I-93 during snowstorm

BOSTON — A close call Sunday night after police say an “extremely confused” 76-year-old man drove the wrong way on Interstate 93 in Boston, nearly striking several vehicles during the heavy snowstorm. The incident began at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday when State Police received about ten calls alerting them of a driver traveling south on the northbound side of the highway. The callers said the driver had nearly struck multiple oncoming vehicles. Massachusetts State Police working with the state highway department shut down the northbound side of the highway to stop the 76-year-old driver, officials said. “Mass Highway positioned several plow trucks across the highway north of Exit 11 in Milton to block the wrong-way vehicle from going any further,” said officials. “The wrong-way vehicle, a 2015 Toyota Corolla, rolled to a stop.” State Police said the driver, a 76-year-old Lynn man, was “extremely confused and stated that he did not know where he was.” Troopers determined that the man’s condition was a result of underlying health conditions and not impairment. The man’s name was not released. The car was towed to the State Police barracks in South Boston where the man made arrangements to be picked up by a friend, police said. “Troopers spoke to the man’s friend about his erratic operation as a result of his medical conditions,” said police. “A Trooper cited the man for a wrong way violation and issued an immediate threat notice with the RMV to have his license suspended.” Video posted on Instagram shows the man driving into oncoming traffic Sunday night. Police: 76-year-old man ‘extremely confused’ after driving the wrong way on I-93 during snowstorm This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2024 Cox Media Group

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crime

Gunman Who Killed 3 U.N.L.V. Faculty Members Wanted College Jobs, Officials Say

The man who shot and killed three faculty members on Wednesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was himself a professor who had tried and failed to get several jobs at colleges in the state, the authorities said on Thursday. The gunman, Anthony Polito, 67, was living in a Las Vegas suburb and was killed by the police during a shootout after his rampage, officials said. Mr. Polito also shot and injured a fourth person, a man identified as a 38-year-old visiting professor who was being treated at a hospital for life-threatening wounds. Shortly before the shooting, the police said, Mr. Polito had mailed 22 letters to employees at universities across the country, at least one of which contained an unknown white powder that was later determined to be harmless. The contents of the additional letters were not clear. Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Mr. Polito had used a 9-millimeter handgun to carry out the attack and brought 11 magazines with him, two of which had been emptied by the time he was killed.

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Police: Pedestrian struck, critically injured by commercial vehicle in East Boston - Boston News, Weather, Sports

The painting Sotheby’s was trying to sell was a newly discovered work by one of the world’s greatest artists, Leonardo da Vinci. It was known as the “Salvator Mundi” and was a depiction of Christ. But it had a code name: Jack. Samuel Valette, a Sotheby’s specialist, testified in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday about how one day in March 2013 he had taken the painting crosstown in an S.U.V. from the auction house’s headquarters on York Avenue to a premier apartment overlooking Central Park. It was one of the many trips he had made to display paintings for a prospective buyer, Valette said. He was, as usual, accompanied by security personnel, and the painting, already valued at tens of millions of dollars, was in a protective crate. The apartment was owned by Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch who has sued Sotheby’s, accusing the auction house of aiding a Swiss dealer who he says defrauded him in the sale of several masterpieces.

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28 people facing charges in connection with brothel bust - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - A police investigation is underway in East Boston after a pedestrian was struck by a commercial vehicle, officials said. Officers responding to the area of Chelsea and Curtis streets around 5:40 a.m. found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to police. Officers could be seen conducting an investigation in a taped-off section of the roadway. No additional information was immediately available. This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Strike in Somalia Said to Kill Mastermind of Attacks on Americans and Kenyans

A senior leader of the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab, who was accused of planning multiple attacks that killed 148 Kenyans in a university town and three Americans on a military base, was killed in a U.S. military drone strike last Sunday, according to Somali and American officials. Maalim Ayman was killed on Dec. 17 by a U.S. Special Operations drone strike in a joint operation with the Somali national army, the officials said. He is believed to be responsible for the assault on Jan. 5, 2020, on a military base in Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed two U.S. contractor pilots and a U.S. soldier. A third U.S. contractor and two other U.S. service members were injured. Six U.S. aircraft were destroyed in the attack. Somalia, a strategic nation located in the Horn of Africa, has been fending off attacks since 2006 by the extremist group al-Shabab, with the assistance of forces from the African Union and the United States. Mr. Ayman was believed to be the mastermind of a unit that launched attacks inside Kenya, Somalia’s southern neighbor. Officially, the U.S. Africa Command, while confirming the strike in Somalia, did not identify the target, pending further analysis, the command said in a statement. But a U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, said the strike successfully targeted Mr. Ayman. Somalia’s information minister confirmed the killing of Mr. Ayman.

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Second suspect arrested, 1 still on the run after police surround Milford home as part of armed robbery investigation - Boston News, Weather, Sports

MILFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - Two people are in custody and one other is still on the run as of Tuesday morning after a search in an armed robbery investigation brought SWAT teams to a Milford neighborhood. Speaking with 7NEWS, Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said the situation was part of the investigation into the robbery of the Aroma Brazil store on Beach Street in Milford last Tuesday. “They tracked one of the suspects down to that location on West Street,” Tusino said. Milford police on Monday night identified the first suspect who was arrested as Daniel Generoso, 26, of Milford. Generoso lived in the home where he was arrested, according to police, and is now expected to face charges in court on Tuesday. The law enforcement presence centered around a multi-family home on West Street Monday afternoon, prompting authorities to shut down part of West Street for several hours beginning around 2:30 p.m. The area had reopened as of around 6:20 p.m., according to Milford police. Just before 11 p.m. Monday, police arrested a second suspect, identified as Lucas Morreira Fontenelle, 21, of Framingham, in connection with the robbery. The suspects in the Aroma Brazil robbery were caught on camera taking about $16,000 in cash from the store, according to Tusino. Police released video of the robbery last week and have been working the case ever since. With two other suspects still on the run at the time of Generoso’s arrest, though, Tusino said police locked the area down and swept the home to be sure the suspects weren’t inside. “Obviously, they had firearms to commit the robbery,” Tusino said. “They had intel that they had possibly purchased more firearms.” Neighbors described the scene as authorities swarmed the area, with one saying her brother saw a police officer in their neighbor’s yard with a rifle. While the investigation was ongoing and while suspects remained at large, neighbors in the West Street area said they were relieved no one was hurt. “It’s a big relief,” said Ti Ferrelli. “It was a really weird feeling.” Tusino said the one remaining suspect in this case should still be considered armed and dangerous. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Former state Sen. Dean Tran arrested for unemployment fraud

Local News Former state Sen. Dean Tran arrested for unemployment fraud Tran has been indicted multiple times since leaving office. Dean Tran in 2018. Sam Doran/State House News Service Former state Sen. Dean Tran was arrested Friday for allegedly defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy’s office announced. Tran, a 48-year-old Fitchburg Republican, served in the Massachusetts Senate from late 2017 until early 2021. He was indicted on 25 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing false tax returns. Tran is expected to appear in federal court in Boston Friday afternoon. After Tran’s Senate term ended, he allegedly applied for pandemic unemployment benefits after he had already accepted a job as a paid consultant for a New Hampshire-based automotive parts company. Tran fraudulently collected $30,120 in pandemic unemployment benefits, prosecutors said. Advertisement: Tran also allegedly concealed more than $50,000 in consulting income that he received from the automotive parts company on his 2021 federal income tax return, Levy’s office said. In addition, Tran allegedly collected thousands of dollars in rental income from tenants at a Fitchburg property from 2020 to 2022 that he concealed from the IRS. “Dean Tran was once elected to serve taxpayers, but today we arrested him for allegedly cheating them out of tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent unemployment benefits that were meant to be a lifeline for those struggling for survival as a result of the pandemic,” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Jodi Cohen said in a statement. “This former state senator allegedly made the conscious decision to repeatedly lie about his employment status and underreport his rental property income so he could get a tax break. The FBI and our partners are working hard every day to shut down such fraud schemes and protect the public from being fleeced.” This is not Tran’s first run-in with law enforcement. In July 2022, Tran was charged with allegedly stealing a gun from an elderly constituent and misleading investigators who were looking into the matter. Advertisement: In June 2019, Tran visited the constituent and allegedly “used his position of trust” to intimidate her into giving him her late husband’s firearms. Tran allegedly made her sign a pre-prepared contract and gave her $1,500 in cash for at least eight guns. He was asked to return the guns the next day and he did, but came back the following morning to force his way into the constituent’s home while she was alone, prosecutors said. Tran allegedly demanded the keys to her husband’s gun safe and stole a Colt .45 while she hid in her bedroom. The gun was returned to the constituent at a later date. When police interviewed Tran about the incident, he allegedly gave multiple conflicting reasons for taking the guns away. He denied any type of firearms sale but later produced a sale contract for the guns. Tran allegedly disparaged the constituent’s mental capacity and demanded a written apology from her. Tran also allegedly made false statements on a 2019 license-to-carry renewal application. In September, Tran was charged with two counts of violating the state ethics law, according to Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office. Those charges came after the Senate Committee on Ethics submitted a report to Campbell’s office that alleged Tran “inappropriately used his Senate staff to conduct campaign activities.” Advertisement: Tran used members of his staff to campaign for him while on state time, payroll, and while purportedly working for the Legislature, prosecutors said. This allegedly occurred during both 2018 and 2020. These staffers allegedly organized fundraisers, knocked on the doors of potential voters, created campaign mailers, and more during official work hours at a Fitchburg office. State conflict of interest law dictates that public employees cannot use public resources in connection with political campaigns.

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crime

Friend who warned officials of Maine shooter says I literally spelled it out

The International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest judicial body, will begin hearings this week in a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The hearings, the first step in a lengthy process should the case go forward, will be the first time that Israel has chosen to defend itself, in person, in such a setting, attesting to the gravity of the indictment and the high stakes for its international reputation and standing. Genocide, the term first employed by a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent in 1944 to describe the Nazis’ systematic murder of about six million Jews and others based on their ethnicity, is among the most serious crimes of which a country can be accused. In its submission to the court, South Africa cited that lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, expounding on the definition of genocide. South Africa, whose post-apartheid government has long supported the Palestinian cause, accused Israel of actions in Gaza that are “genocidal in character.” It says Israel has killed Palestinian civilians, inflicted serious bodily and mental harm, and created for the residents of Gaza “conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

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crime

Podcasters Took Up Her Sisters Murder Investigation. Then They Turned on Her.

Although she didn’t know it at the time, Flatt was at a crossroads in what she had taken to calling her journey, a path embarked on after a prayer-born decision five years earlier to try and find who killed her sister, Deborah Sue Williamson, or Debbie, in 1975. It was now 2021. Flatt was middle-aged and coming out of one of the darkest moments of her life. Her mother had died, quite suddenly, two years earlier, and the grief from her death almost destroyed Flatt. Her father was gone, too — dead from a heart attack after years of fighting for the police to reinvestigate Debbie’s killing — and her older brother, Ricky, who was once a suspect in the murder, took his own life five years before that. She had come to Austin for a conference, CrimeCon, which formed around the same time that Flatt began her quest, at a moment now seen as an inflection point in the long history of true crime, a genre as old as storytelling but one that adapts quickly to new technologies, from the printing press to social media. The gathering was smaller in 2021 because of the pandemic, but Nancy Grace, queen of true crime’s TV era, still showed up, as did Dr. Phil. On “Podcast Row,” Flatt wandered among booths for “Cults, Crimes & Cabernet” and “Murderish,” for “True Crime Garage” and “Die-alogue,” less a fan of the genre, which she never liked that much, than a scout on a search. She ran into a podcaster who covered Debbie’s story a couple of years before, a man who goes by the name Vincent Strange, and she commiserated with a woman whose mother’s murder also remained unsolved. Then, at another booth, Flatt met a woman who would later put her in touch with two investigators who presented at the conference that year: George Jared and Jennifer Bucholtz. They were podcasters, but Jared was also a journalist and Bucholtz an adjunct professor of forensics and criminal justice at the for-profit American Military University. Their presentation was on another cold case, the murder of Rebekah Gould in 2004, whose killer they claimed to have helped find using a technique that has quickly become a signature of the changing landscape of true crime: crowdsourcing.

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crime

Man Who Attacked Las Vegas Judge Gets Up to 4 Years in Prison

A judge who was attacked by a defendant in a Las Vegas courtroom last week sentenced the man on Monday to 19 to 48 months in prison on a previous battery charge, emphasizing that his actions last week did not affect her sentencing decision. The man, Deobra Redden, 30, drew national attention on Wednesday when courtroom video showed him leaping over the bench onto the judge, Mary Kay Holthus of Clark County District Court, causing the flags behind the bench to fall. Judge Holthus, 62, was injured in the attack, as was a court marshal and the judge’s law clerk, officials said. On Monday, Mr. Redden returned to Judge Holthus’s courtroom to complete the sentencing hearing that his violent outburst had interrupted.

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crime

DA: Man killed in fatal shooting at Lawrence nightclub on Christmas Eve

“I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” he wrote on Sept. 15. LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Sean Hodgson watched and worried as his best friend of nearly two decades unraveled. His former roommate and fellow U.S. Army reservist’s anger and paranoia were mounting, he had access to guns, and he refused to get help. So Hodgson did the hardest thing of his life: He sent a text about Robert Card to their Army supervisor. Six weeks later, Card fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston before killing himself. His body was found in a trailer after a two-day search and regionwide lockdown. Advertisement “I wasn’t in his head. I don’t know exactly what went on,” Hodgson told The Associated Press last week in an exclusive interview, his first since the Oct. 25 shootings. “But I do know I was right.” The series of warning signs about Card have been well documented. In May, relatives warned police that Card had grown paranoid, and they expressed concern about his access to guns. In July, Card was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for two weeks after shoving a fellow reservist and locking himself in a motel room. In August, the Army barred him from handling weapons while on duty and declared him nondeployable. And in September, Hodgson raised the most glaring red flag, telling authorities to change the passcode to the gate at their Army Reserve training facility and arm themselves if Card showed up. “Please,” he wrote. “I believe he’s messed up in the head.” But authorities declined to confront Card — the clearest example of the missed opportunities to intervene and prevent the deadliest shooting in state history. That’s hard to swallow for Hodgson, who’s pushing back against an independent report for law enforcement that described him as “over the top” and “alarmist.” Advertisement “I did my job, and I went over and beyond it, and I literally spelled it out for them,” said Hodgson, 43, referred to by only his last name in documents related to the case. “I don’t know how clear I could have gotten.” Hodgson’s account, taken together with law enforcement documents, videos and other interviews, provides the most comprehensive picture to date of potential missteps leading up to the attack. In replying to AP's questions about the investigation and Hodgson's warning, the Army Reserve said in a statement this week that no one should jump to conclusions until its own investigation and an independent probe by the Army inspector general are finalized. “Any speculation at this point without having all the details could affect the outcome of the investigation. More details may become available once the investigation is complete,” Lt. Col. Addie Leonhardt, Army Reserve spokesperson, said in the statement. Officials wouldn't comment further. Sheriff Joel Merry — of Sagadahoc County, where Card lived — didn’t respond to AP’s questions about whether Hodgson’s warning was taken seriously enough but suggested a need for public policy changes. He previously said his office has been “fully transparent” and is cooperating with an independent commission appointed by the governor. Hodgson said he doesn't know where the failings occurred but believes more could have been done to help his friend and prevent tragedy. Advertisement “I understand he did a horrific thing. I don’t agree with it. But I loved him,” he said. “ I didn’t want any of this for anybody.” Law enforcement personnel are staged in a school parking lot during a manhunt for Robert Card in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 27, 2023. Matt Rourke/Associated Press For much of their friendship, Card was “the sensible one,” Hodgson said. They met in 2006 in the Army Reserve and became especially close when they both divorced around the same time. When Hodgson was evicted from his New Hampshire apartment in 2022, Card told him to move to Maine, and they lived together for about a month, he said. When Card was hospitalized in New York in July, Hodgson was the one who drove him back to Maine. By then, Hodgson said, Card had begun venting to him about his belief that those around him were accusing him of being a pedophile. Hodgson believed some of Card’s complaints were true — a case of mistaken identity stemming from the fact that another Robert Card is on the state’s sex offender registry — and described an incident at the bowling alley when a father snatched his daughter away from Card after he offered the toddler a hello. “I always believed him. I always stuck by him,” Hodgson said. “I am the closest one to Robert Card. Besides his mother, he pushed everybody away. “I was the last one he pushed away.” In September, after a night out at the Oxford Casino, Card began “flipping out,” Hodgson said — pounding the steering wheel and almost crashing multiple times. After Hodgson begged him to pull over, he said, Card punched him in the face. Advertisement “We were having a good night, and he just snapped,” he said. Hodgson told Card to drop him off at a gas station near his house. “I love you, and I’ll always be here for you no matter what,” he said he told his friend as he got out of the car. Hodgson sent his text two days later, telling his training supervisor he feared what Card might do. He didn’t speak to Card after that, he said, though they passed each other at work. “It took me a lot to report somebody I love,” he said. “But when the hair starts standing up on the back of your neck, you have to listen.” Watching the videos was gut-wrenching for Tammy Asselin, who became separated from her 10-year-old daughter during the chaos of the bowling alley shooting. Charles Krupa/Associated Press After his text, Hodgson said, military officials followed up, asking whether Card threatened specific people. He told them he hadn’t. But they didn’t ask for help in approaching Card, he said, even though they drove trucks for the same company and he knew his friend’s schedule and route. “I could’ve told them when he was at work, when he was at home, what hours he worked,” he said. Authorities briefly staked out the Army Reserve Center and visited Card’s home. They declined to confront him, fearing that would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to video released last month by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office. In the videos, officials downplayed Hodgson’s warning, suggesting he might have been drunk when he texted at 2:04 a.m. Speaking to police at the training center, Army Reserve Capt. Jeremy Reamer describes Hodgson as “not the most credible of our soldiers” and later tells Sagadahoc Sheriff Sgt. Aaron Skolfield his message should be taken “with a grain of salt.” Advertisement Hodgson, who was unaware of those comments until contacted by AP, acknowledged in a series of interviews that he struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol addiction but said he wasn't drinking that night and was awake because he works nights and was waiting for his boss to call. Hodgson also acknowledges that he faces two criminal charges, one alleging he assaulted a woman he was dating in 2022 and another alleging that he violated his bail conditions by possessing alcohol last month. He's also in hot water for wrecking a military vehicle last summer, he said. But he said authorities should have taken him more seriously given his relationship with Card, his past training on threat detection and mitigation, and his previous work as a security officer at a nuclear plant. “That was the most difficult thing I ever had to do, was report him to command, and I did that. And for them to discredit me?” he said. “It pisses me off because all they had to do is listen.” In a text message this week, Reamer declined to comment on questions from AP and referred them to Army Reserve public affairs officers. According to the independent review for the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, officers didn’t have sufficient grounds the day they staked out Card’s house to force the issue and take him into protective custody after he refused to answer the door. That step is necessary to trigger Maine’s “yellow flag” law. It allows a judge to temporarily remove someone’s guns during a psychiatric health crisis. But Stephanie Sherman, an attorney who’s represented several families of survivors of the 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, said police had more than enough information to take to a local judge. The videos show officers with a disturbingly casual approach to the threat Card posed, Sherman said. She also noted that Skolfield referred to the Cards as a “big family in this area” and said he didn’t want to publicize over police radio that officers were visiting the home. “It was sort of balancing the safety of the public versus this family’s reputation,” she said. “And that should not be a factor.” Watching the videos was gut-wrenching for Tammy Asselin, who became separated from her 10-year-old daughter during the chaos of the bowling alley shooting. She said it was the first time she knew for sure that steps could have been taken to prevent the massacre. “Listening to that interaction between the military and the sheriff, it hurt me to hear the giggle and the laughter in their voice,” Asselin said, a tear running down her cheek. “Because I don’t think they would be giggling and laughing had they been the ones in my shoes that day, not knowing where their daughter was.” Police tape cordons off the road to Schemengees Bar and Grille as law enforcement officers maintain their presence in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Matt Rourke/Associated Press For weeks after sending the text about Card to their supervisor, Hodgson said he prayed that it wouldn't come true. But as soon as he heard about the shooting, he called his sergeant. “I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said he told him. “I know it’s Robert Card.” Hodgson was driving to Massachusetts for work that day. He fielded phone calls to and from multiple law enforcement agencies that didn't seem to be communicating with one another, he said. He said he told authorities right away that Card likely was headed to the Maine Recycling Corp. Card had worked there, and it wasn’t far from the boat launch where his car was found after the shootings. His body would eventually be found there, after initial unsuccessful searches that critics said were too cautious. More than two months later, Hodgson said, he hates that Card “took the easy way out" and isn’t around to answer questions or face the consequences of what he did. It’s not the Robert Card he knew and loved for 17 years, he said, and he struggles with that every day. Hodgson said he wants people to know he did everything he could to save lives. “I don’t know how to express to people how much I loved him, how much I cared about him,” he said. “And how much I hate what he did.”

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crime

India Faces Questions About Another Reported Foreign Assassination Plot

For the second time in recent months, the Indian government is facing questions about whether it was involved in an assassination plot on Western soil, as American officials said they had expressed concerns to New Delhi about a thwarted plan to kill a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. U.S. officials did not publicly accuse India of trying to orchestrate the killing of the dual citizen, reported by news outlets to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a vocal advocate of the cause of Sikh separatism. But the revelation of a foiled plot comes just months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of another Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian territory. And in the case of Mr. Pannun, news outlets, led by The Financial Times, reported on Wednesday that the Biden administration had told the Indian government it had information possibly linking New Delhi to the plot against him. Responding to those reports, which cited anonymous U.S. officials, the Indian foreign ministry issued a vaguely worded statement acknowledging discussion with the United States on the matter.

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crime

Victims in Western MA plane crash identified

A 29-year-old man was killed in a shooting at a Lawrence nightclub just after midnight on Christmas Eve, according to police. Lawrence police responded to a report of shots fired at Energy Lounge on Broadway around 12:20 a.m. Sunday morning, police said in a press release. There, officers and paramedics found the victim with a gunshot wound. They treated him before taking him to Lawrence General Hospital where he was declared dead. Energy Lounge confirmed in a statement posted to its Instagram account that the shooting happened inside the nightclub. It said it is cooperating with investigators. “Energy Lounge deeply regrets the human loss, and we send our most sincere condolences to the victim’s relatives. We accompany them in their pain,” the nightclub wrote. No further information about the shooting, including the identity of the victim, has been released.

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crime

Probable cause hearings announced for alleged clients in Mass. brothel bust case

Dates have been set for probable cause hearings in the cases against 28 people accused of paying for sex in a high-end brothel network alleged to have been operating in Massachusetts and Virginia. The names of the accused have yet to be released, but the hearings will be open to the public after requests from NBC10 Boston and other news outlets. The hearings are set for Jan. 18, Jan. 19 and Jan. 22 in Cambridge District Court, starting at 10 a.m. each morning. Capacity is limited and attendees will be allowed in on a first come basis. If no probable cause is found further details will not be made public. If it is, court paperwork will be made available. This is significant because typically these hearings, called "show cause hearings" are closed to the public, a concept unique to Massachusetts' criminal justice system. It allows people accused of misdemeanors who haven't been arrested to have closed-door hearings with clerk magistrates. Typically, the cases are only made public if the magistrate decides there is enough probable cause to approve the criminal charges. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Federal prosecutors are now laying out new state charges connected to a case involving an illegal brothel ring uncovered in Massachusetts. But following media requests, Cambridge District Court Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey allowed the proceedings to be open to the public, citing public interest in the case. The arrests of three people in connection with the brothel organization alleged to have operated in Massachusetts and Virginia drew public attention, and acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy of Massachusetts previously said that the list of accused clients included politicians, professors, military officers and pharmaceutical executives.

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crime

Massachusetts woman pleads guilty to calling in hoax bomb threat at Boston Children's Hospital

Massachusetts woman pleads guilty to calling in hoax bomb threat at Boston Children's Hospital A sign hangs on the Boston Children's Hospital, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston. A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, to calling in a fake bomb threat to Boston Children’s Hospital as it faced a barrage of harassment over its surgical program for transgender youths. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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crime

Armed men arrested after storming an Ecuador TV studio during a live broadcast

Ecuador’s national police chief says authorities have arrested all the gunmen who broke into a TV studio during a live broadcast and threatened the staff. Police commander César Zapata told the TV channel Teleamazonas that officers seized the guns and explosives the masked intruders had with them. He didn’t say how many people were arrested. “This is an act that should be considered as a terrorist act,” Zapata said. The men with their faces covered entered the set of the TC Television network in the port city of Guayaquil and shouted that they had bombs. Noises similar to gunshots could be heard in the background. The channel broadcast live for at least 15 minutes before the signal was cut off. While the transmission was on, the men could be seen on camera while some employees laid down on the floor and someone was heard yelling “Don’t shoot!” A video of the situation was posted to X by BNO News. Another video, also posted by BNO News, showed panic erupting at the University of Guayaquil in Ecuador amid reports of gunmen on campus. Ecuador’s Police said on X, formerly Twitter, that some units were deployed to the media facilities. Hours earlier, Ecuadorian authorities had confirmed a series of attacks around the country, including explosions and the abduction of several police officers. Police reported four officers were kidnapped on Monday night and remained missing, one in the capital, Quito, and three in Quevedo city. Separately, agents arrested two people for possession of explosives and as suspects in at least one of the attacks in the South American country. The government has not said how many attacks were registered in total, but local media reported several, including some in northern cities, where vehicles were set on fire, and others in Quito, including an explosion near the house of the president of the National Justice Court. Authorities have not said who is thought to be behind the attacks or if the incidents are part an orchestrated action. The government has previously accused members of the main drug gangs for similar strikes. In recent years, Ecuador has been engulfed by a surge of violence tied to drug trafficking, including homicides and kidnappings. Ecuadorian authorities reported Sunday that Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito” and the leader of Los Choneros gang, wasn’t in his cell in a low security prison. He was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum security facility that day. His whereabouts were unclear. Prosecutors opened an investigation and charged two guards in connection with the alleged escape, but neither the police, the corrections system, nor the federal government confirmed whether Macías fled the facility or might be hiding in it. In February 2013, he escaped from a maximum security facility but was recaptured weeks later. On Monday, President Daniel Noboa decreed a national state of emergency for 60 days, allowing the authorities to suspend rights and mobilize the military in places like prisons. The government also imposed a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Monday night. Noboa said in a message on Instagram that he wouldn’t stop until he “brings back peace to all Ecuadorians,” and that his government had decided to confront crime. States of emergency were widely used by Noboa’s predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, as a way to confront the wave of violence that has affected the country. The wave of attacks began a few hours after Noboa’s announcement. Macías, who was convicted of drug trafficking, murder and organized crime, was serving a 34-year sentence in La Regional prison in the port of Guayaquil. Los Choneros is one of the Ecuadorian gangs authorities consider responsible for a spike in violence that reached a new level last year with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The gang has links with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, according to authorities. Experts and authorities have acknowledged that gang members practically rule from inside the prisons, and Macías was believed to have continued controlling his group from within the detention facility.

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crime

Death of 70-year-old person near Wellesley College Wed. under investigation

Authorities are investigating after a 70-year-old was found unconscious near Wellesley College in Wellesley on Wednesday and was later pronounced dead, Wellesley police said. The person was found in a slightly wooded area on a walking path close to Central Street at around 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 27, police said in a statement. First responders performed CPR on the individual, but were unable to revive them. They were pronounced dead onsite, according to police. The person is not believed to have any connection to Wellesley College. The Medical Examiner took custody of the body, police added. Wellesley Police Officers and Detectives, the Massachusetts State Police, and Wellesley College Police are investigating the incident.

c24a3e1efd2aa99eff0b0823c6e986a2

crime

Utterly unacceptable': Mayor to increase police presence after 2 teens are shot to death in Lynn

Two teenagers were shot and killed near a gas station in Lynn, Massachusetts, Wednesday night, according to authorities. The incident happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Camden Street, near AL Prime Energy gas station on Western Avenue — not far from this week's triple shooting. The victims, only identified as a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old man, were taken to the hospital, where they died, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. No further information was made available. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Police in Lynn, Massachusetts, are investigating a shooting at a gas station that happened Wednesday night — not too far from this week's triple shooting. The 16-year-old was a student in the Lynn Public Schools, according to a statement released by the superintendent. "It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I address you today. We have experienced a tragic loss within our school community. Our deepest condolences and sympathies go out to the families, friends, staff, and everyone affected by the devastating loss of student life," Superintendent Evonne S. Alvarez said. "This heartbreaking event has deeply impacted us all. During this difficult time, it is important for us to come together as a community to offer support and strength to one another." She said support services will be available for students when they return to school from winter break next week. The deadly shooting comes just days after three people were seriously hurt in a shooting at a Pizza Hut on State Street. A shooting at a Pizza Hut in Lynn left three people injured Tuesday. While police said Tuesday night's shooting was targeted, no arrests have been made. The three victims remain in stable condition in the hospital, the district attorney's office said. "This violence is devastating, infuriating, and utterly unacceptable," Mayor Jared Nicholson said in a statement Thursday. "We will respond with increased police presence as needed and renewed urgency and clarity in our efforts for peace, justice, and a safer community." It wasn't immediately known if the two shootings were related.

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crime

Murder suspect in Maine liquor store killing arrested in Arkansas

Arkansas State Police have arrested a Maine man who authorities say went on the run after killing a coworker at a Waterville liquor store earlier this week, Maine State Police announced Sunday. After a car chase early Sunday morning, police arrested Spridal Hubiak — the 20-year-old Waterville resident charged with murder in the death of 52-year-old Angela Bragg, Maine State Police said in a press release. A Damon’s Beverage employee found Bragg — a Waterville resident — dead of a “sharp force injury” around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 28, police said. Bragg’s death was soon ruled a homicide, and investigators issued a warrant for Hubiak’s arrest in connection with her killing. Just before 1 a.m. Sunday morning, police in Flippin, Arkansas, notified Maine State Police that they had made contact with Hubiak, who was sleeping in a parking lot, police said. He fled in a black Ford Taurus, but Arkansas State Police deployed spike mats and disabled the car. Hubiak then got out of the car carrying a rifle and shots were fired, police said. Hubiak was injured, but it is unclear whether Hubiak fired his rifle or if he was hit by gunfire, as authorities are not releasing detailed information about the shooting while Arkansas State Police investigate the incident. Hubiak was flown to a hospital in Missouri, but is expected to live, police said. It is unclear when he might be taken back to Maine to face charges. Authorities have not released further information about Bragg’s killing, but have said they were both employees of Damon’s liquor store. The liquor store called the incident “an unimaginable tragedy” in a statement posted to its Facebook page on Friday. “First and foremost, the Damon family would like to reach out and extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Angela Bragg,” Damon’s Beverage wrote. “She was a valued employee, friend, and person. None of us will be the same after this.

ce7169e70adbbaa096bcbeab5d7d8ab4

crime

Paul Reveres tombstone, businesses damaged in weekend Boston vandalism spree

A pair of Massachusetts residents and a Connecticut man were killed in a plane crash on the Greenfield-Leyden line Sunday afternoon, according to the Massachusetts State Police. Identities of the three passengers killed in the crash were released on Monday. Indian Orchard resident William Hampton, 68, Southwick’s Fredrika Ballard, 53 and Woodstock, CT resident Chad Davidson, 29, were all aboard the twin-engine Beechcraft 55 Baron that crashed within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area on Sunday, officials said. Ballard was the owner of Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield and Hampton was a Fly Lugu flight instructor, according to officials. Davidson was a student pilot, police said. The plane, owned by the Fly Lugu Flight School, departed from Barned Airport in Westfield almost an hour and a half before the plane was located, according to officials. Troopers on the scene confirmed that the three individuals killed were the plane’s only occupants. The three victims were removed from the wreck by firefighters and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Officials said the National Transportation Safety Board, Greenfield Police and the Northwest District Attorney’s Office are continuing to investigate the incident, with the NTSB leading the charge. An NTSB representative said preliminary information on the incident is that the plane crashed under unknown circumstances near Leyden Wildlife Management Area. The NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene Monday when the aircraft will be examined. Information that will be gathered in the NTSB’s investigation includes fight track data, maintenance records, air traffic control communication records, possible surveillance video, witness statements, 72-hour background on the pilot and pilot’s license.

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crime

Man With Developmental Disabilities Settles Wrongful Conviction Suit for $11.7 Million

A man with developmental disabilities who spent more than 16 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder has reached a settlement of $11,725,000 with the city of Elkhart, Ind., his lawyers said on Friday. The man, Andrew Royer, said that when he first learned of the settlement he “went numb.” “I’m a brand-new person,” Mr. Royer, 48, said in an interview on Saturday. “I’m ecstatic.” A jury convicted Mr. Royer in the 2002 killing of a 94-year-old woman, Helen Sailor, who had been found strangled in a high-rise apartment in downtown Elkhart. Mr. Royer was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Law enforcement officials said it was a burglary that had turned violent, but there were issues with the prosecution’s case from the beginning.

ed938f4244929015569293bd107c65d5

crime

West Bridgewater man who lived at daycare facing child sex abuse images charge

A West Bridgewater man living at a daycare is accused of collecting more than 100 child sex abuse videos and images from online chat groups, according to the office of U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy. Juan Levano, 23, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography after he was arrested Wednesday morning, Dec. 20, Levy’s office said in a release on Thursday. Read More: Feds seek charges against clients connected with Massachusetts brothel ring According to charging documents, Levano got the images from at least two online chat groups that were part of an online communications application used for the trafficking of child sex abuse images, officials said. Investigators took multiple electronic devices from Levano’s residence, which is registered as a residential daycare, according to officials. Both Levano and the owner of the residence denied that Levano worked at the daycare and that Levano had any contact with the children who attend it. However, Levano did admit to getting the child sex abuse images from those online chat groups, according to officials. His collection included images of children ranging from infancy to 13 years old. Officials said Levano kept the pictures and videos on the photo app on his phone. Investigators are still analyzing the devices, the office added. Levano remains in federal custody after he first appeared in federal court in Boston, officials stated. If convicted, the 23-year-old could face between 5-20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The investigation is ongoing.

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crime

Gypsy Rose Blanchard out of prison years after persuading boyfriend to kill her abusive mother

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the Missouri woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released Thursday, Dec. 28 from prison on parole. Blanchard was released early in the day from the Chillicothe Correctional Center, said Karen Pojmann, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections. Blanchard was granted parole after serving 85% of her original sentence, Pojmann said. Blanchard’s case sparked national tabloid interest after reports emerged that her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, who was slain in 2015, had essentially kept her daughter prisoner, forcing her to use a wheelchair and feeding tube. It turned out that Gypsy Blanchard, now 32, was perfectly healthy, not developmentally delayed as her friends had always believed. Her mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children, said her trial attorney, Michael Stanfield. “People were constantly telling Dee Dee what a wonderful mother she was, and Dee Dee was getting all of this attention,” he said. Through the ruse, the mother and daughter met country star Miranda Lambert and received charitable donations, a trip to Disney World and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity. Stanfield said Gypsy Blanchard’s mother was able to dupe doctors by telling them her daughter’s medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina. If they asked too many questions, she just found a new physician, shaving the girl’s head to back up her story. Among the unnecessary procedures Gypsy Blanchard underwent was the removal of her salivary glands. Her mother convinced doctors it was necessary by using topical anesthetic to cause drooling. Gypsy Blanchard, who had little schooling or contact with anyone but her mother, also was misled, especially when she was younger, Stanfield said. “The doctors seem to confirm everything that you’re being told. The outside world is telling you that your mother is a wonderful, loving, caring person. What other idea can you have?” Stanfield said. But then the abuse became more physical, Stanfield said. Gypsy testified that her mother beat her and chained her to a bed. Slowly, Gypsy also was beginning to understand that she wasn’t as sick as her mom said. “I wanted to be free of her hold on me,” Gypsy testified at the 2018 trial of her former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn of Big Bend, Wisconsin, who is serving a life sentence in the killing. She went on to add: “I talked him into it.” When she took the stand at his trial, prosecutors already had cut her a deal because of the abuse she had endured. In exchange for pleading guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The first-degree murder charge she initially faced would have meant a life term. “Nick was so in love with her and so obsessed with her that he would do anything,” Godejohn’s trial attorney Dewayne Perry argued in court, saying his client has autism and was manipulated. Prosecutors, however, argued that he was motivated by sex and a desire to be with Gypsy Blanchard, whom he met on a Christian dating website. According to the probable cause statement, Gypsy Blanchard supplied the knife and hid in a bathroom while Godejohn repeatedly stabbed her mother. The two ultimately made their way by bus to Wisconsin, where they were arrested. She has been incarcerated since then at a state women’s prison in Chillicothe. “Things are not always as they appear,” said Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott as the strange revelations began to emerge. Even Gypsy’s age was a lie. Her mother had said she was younger to make it easier to perpetuate the fraud, and got away with it because Gypsy was so small: just 4 feet, 11 inches (150 centimeters) tall. Law enforcement was initially so confused that the original court documents listed three different ages for her, with the youngest being 19. She was 23. Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson described it as “one of the most extraordinary and unusual cases we have seen.” Stanfield recalled that the first time he met Gypsy, she got out of breath walking the 75 yards (69 meters) from the elevator to the room where he talked to her. He described her as malnourished and physically frail. “I can honestly say I’ve rarely had a client who looks exceedingly better after doing a fairly long prison sentence,” Stanfield said. “Prison is generally not a place where you become happy and healthy. And I say that because, to me, that’s kind of the evidence to the rest of the world as to just how bad what Gypsy was going through really was.” Gypsy Blanchard later said it wasn’t until her arrest that she realized how healthy she was. But it took time. Eventually, she got married while behind bars to Ryan Scott Anderson, now 37, of Saint Charles, Louisiana. The bizarre case was the subject of the 2017 HBO documentary “Mommy Dead and Dearest,” the 2019 Hulu miniseries “The Act” and an upcoming Lifetime docuseries “The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.” Daytime television psychologist “Dr. Phil” McGraw interviewed her from prison. The novel “Darling Rose Gold” draws upon the story for its premise and Blanchard’s own account, “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom” is set for publication next month. Amid the media storm, corrections department spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said no in-person coverage of her release on Thursday would be allowed “in the interest of protecting safety, security and privacy.”

1716ec4f1ff228825aeb9bd94fff56d0

crime

Lawyer for Springfield cop accused of stun-gunning pregnant woman argues boyfriend lied for her

SPRINGFIELD — Newly filed records in U.S. District Court say a man lied about his girlfriend being pregnant at her behest after she was tased in 2020 by a Springfield cop. Stephen Blanchard is doing a turnabout and seeking his own attorney to protect his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

5f0f9549e2be177ab6e9c6396381fd20

crime

Aria Kamal, fatally shot by father in Dover, remembered by friends

A 46-year-old man was arrested after several businesses and historical sites were damaged in a vandalism spree in Boston this past weekend, according to the Boston Police Department. The front door of a business was found smashed with a brick near 125 Charles St. South around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 25, police said on Facebook. Officers checked surveillance footage and obtained a description of the suspect. A little after midnight, an officer noticed that the front windshield of his cruiser was smashed. Police again checked surveillance footage and obtained a description of the suspect. Later that morning, officers found a broken window near 15 Sudbury St., police said. It was then that officers determined that the description of the suspect from this incident was similar to the other two incidents. Officers followed the suspect through surveillance video and watched him throw an unknown object at the Holocaust Memorial located at 98 Union St. When they arrived, police found a brick on the ground and vandalism to the memorial. Read More: Police arrest suspect in shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent near University of Vermont Another vandalism report came in just after 3 a.m. Sunday at 15 Court Square, police said. This time, officers found a broken window at a nearby business at 201 Washington St. After checking surveillance video, officers determined it was the same suspect from the previous incidents. The suspect was later seen entering a shelter at 112 Southampton St. and, at 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 26, he was arrested. The suspect was identified as Lawrence Hawkins, of Boston, police said. Hawkins was charged with multiple counts of destruction of property and destruction of a place of worship. He is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court, according to police. Although Hawkins had already been arrested, officers found 14 tombstones, including Paul Revere’s, had been previously vandalized at the Granary Burying Ground located off Tremont Street at around 10:45 a.m. Sunday. The tombstones had either been pulled from the ground or broken into pieces, police said. Six more tombstones, including one that was ripped from the ground, were also damaged in King’s Chapel Burying Ground, according to police. Officers later determined that Hawkin was also behind these vandalism acts. Police said he will be charged with additional counts of destruction of property and defacing a burial site. The National Park Services was also notified of the incident, police concluded.

d6dfeb2f0518bb6f2047be1eabcae3e8

crime

Boston postal worker robbed at gunpoint for his mail key, police say

Boston postal worker robbed at gunpoint for his mail key, police say Boston police say a postal worker was robbed at gunpoint for his mail key on Thursday evening. Police rushed to the Dorchester Center mail station at the corner of Talbot and Welles avenues, just after 5:40 p.m. Thursday after receiving the report of an armed robbery. The postal worker told investigators he was robbed at gunpoint of his mail key. Boston police described the suspect as a light-skinned Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s with a thin build, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweater, gray sweatpants and a black ski mask. Police said the suspect fled on Talbot Avenue toward Washington Street.Anyone with information was urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4335.The latest mail carrier attack comes just one day after another attack in Randolph. According to police, they received a 911 call at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday from the postal worker, who said they were robbed within the Rosemont Square Apartment Complex.Randolph police said the USPS employee was physically assaulted by two masked men who were dressed in all black. The mail carrier suffered injuries to his ribs and side as a result of the attack.Police also said an "arrow key," a master key for USPS mailboxes in a particular area, was stolen from the mail carrier by the assailants. Related stories: Boston police say a postal worker was robbed at gunpoint for his mail key on Thursday evening. Police rushed to the Dorchester Center mail station at the corner of Talbot and Welles avenues, just after 5:40 p.m. Thursday after receiving the report of an armed robbery. Advertisement The postal worker told investigators he was robbed at gunpoint of his mail key. Boston police described the suspect as a light-skinned Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s with a thin build, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweater, gray sweatpants and a black ski mask. Police said the suspect fled on Talbot Avenue toward Washington Street. Anyone with information was urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4335. The latest mail carrier attack comes just one day after another attack in Randolph. According to police, they received a 911 call at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday from the postal worker, who said they were robbed within the Rosemont Square Apartment Complex. Randolph police said the USPS employee was physically assaulted by two masked men who were dressed in all black. The mail carrier suffered injuries to his ribs and side as a result of the attack. Police also said an "arrow key," a master key for USPS mailboxes in a particular area, was stolen from the mail carrier by the assailants. Related stories:

3ff9857eb7f0faaebb0a031ed670cb40

crime

Jurors Find San Francisco Homeless Man Not Guilty in Pipe Beating

A homeless man who beat a former San Francisco city official with a metal pipe was found not guilty of assault charges on Friday, capping a case that had drawn national attention as a symbol of the city’s crime and homelessness problems until a public defender unearthed a surprising back story. The defendant, Garret Allen Doty, 25, faced as many as seven years in prison had he been found guilty of the charges that stemmed from an altercation in San Francisco’s wealthy Marina district. On the evening of April 5, police responded to a neighborhood resident, Don Carmignani, 54, who had a fractured skull and severe injuries to his face that required more than 100 stitches. Multiple witnesses identified Mr. Doty as the assailant, and police arrested him minutes later. But the public defender in the case, Kleigh Hathaway, determined that Mr. Carmignani had sprayed a canister of what appeared to be bear mace before Mr. Doty attacked him. Ms. Hathaway surfaced eight unsolved cases in which pepper spray or bear mace had been used against homeless people in the neighborhood. It was enough, she felt, to argue that Mr. Doty had responded in self-defense. Jurors ultimately agreed on Friday. “This case shows us that the citizens of San Francisco can still tell the difference between right and wrong,” Ms. Hathaway said afterward in an interview.

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crime

Boston Police Crime Lab missed deadline to test half of rape kits

MINUTES. HERE. LIVE IN MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE MARIA. WE WILL SEE YOU THEN. ED. THANK YOU. FIVE INVESTIGATES REVEALING A CRIME LAB IN MASSACHUSETTS IS FAILING TO MEET A STATE LAW THAT SET A DEADLINE TO TEST RAPE KITS. ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF THAT LAW IS TELLING OUR KAREN ANDERSON THE LAB’S EXCLAMATION EXPLANATION, RATHER, IS UNACCEPTABLE. KAREN AND MARIA MASSACHUSETTS LAW SAYS EVERY RAPE KIT MUST BE TESTED WITHIN 30 DAYS. IT WAS PASSED AS PART OF A REFORM TO MAKE SURE EVERY SEXUAL ASSAULT IS TREATED SERIOUSLY, TO SOLVE CASES AND CATCH RAPISTS. S THAT’S A HUGE PROBLEM. STATE REPRESENTATIVE NATALIE HIGGINS HAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR BOSTON POLICE. AFTER LEARNING THEIR CRIME LAB FAILED TO MEET THE DEADLINE FOR TESTING HALF OF ALL RAPE KITS IT RECEIVED IN THE MOSTRILLIONECENT FISCAL YEAR. IS THIS AN ISSUE THAT’S IMPACTING KIND OF EVIDENCE TESTING OF ALL VIOLENT CRIMES? IS THIS ONLY SOMETHING THAT RAPE KITS ARE OR ARE GOING THROUGH THE REPORT SAYS 93 OF THE 186 KITS SUBMITTED MISSED THE DEADLINE. THE REASON A STAFFING SHORTAGE ACCORDING TO THE REPORT. I THINK STAFFING ISSUES IS AN UNACCEPTABLE ANSWER. I THINK IS A SOLVABLE PROBLEM. HIGGINS, WHO IS HERSELF A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, SAYS THE LEGISLATURE COULD HAVE HELPED WITH RESOURCES IF THEY WERE TOLD. IN CONTRAST WITH BOSTON, THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB TESTED ALMOST ALL OF ITS KITS WITHIN 30 DAYS. JUST 4% MISSED THE DEADLINE. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE BOSTON POLICE CRIME LAB? I HOPE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THESE DELAYS AND THE HARM THAT IT LEADS TO TO NOT ONLY THE SURVIVORS WHOSE KITS ARE BEING DELAYED, BUT TO TO ANY CURRENT SURVIVOR AND FUTURE SURVIVOR, AND HOW THAT IMPACTS OUR WILLINGNESS TO COME FORWARD AND BELIEVE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE GOING TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY. NOW, BOSTON POLICE JUST SENT US A STATEMENT. THEY SAY ALL RAPE KITS SUBMITTED TO THEIR LAB ARE BEING TESTED AND THEY’RE EXPLORING WAYS TO IMPROVE THE WORKFLOW. SO AS WE CONTINUE TO ENHANCE OUR PROCESS, OUR COMMITMENT TO THE SURVIVORS OF THESE CRIMES REMAINS OUR TOP PRIORITY. REPORT Advertisement Boston Police Crime Lab missed 30-day deadline to test half of rape kits, state report finds In contrast, only 4% missed deadline at State Police Crime Lab Share Copy Link Copy The Boston Police Crime Lab failed to test half of rape kits submitted within the time limit set by state law, according to a new report by the state."I'm really frustrated and really concerned," said state Rep. Natalie Higgins, an author of the 2018 law that set the requirement.That law requires the two crime labs in the state – Boston police and the State Police Crime Lab – to test all rape kits submitted within 30 days.The state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said that of the 186 kits submitted to the Boston lab, 93 – or 50% – were not tested within 30 days.A "staffing shortage" is cited by the report as the reason for the Boston lab's delay.The Leominster Democrat said that was an "unacceptable answer.""I think it's a solvable problem," she said.In contrast, at the State Police Crime Lab, 28 of the 714 kits submitted remained untested for more than 30 days. That's just 4% that missed the deadline."I have a lot of questions," she added. "I wonder, is this an issue that's impacting evidence testing of all violent crimes? Is this only something that rape kits are going through? And why are we finding out in a report, and we weren't finding out that they might need some more resources?"Boston police said in a statement that, "The Department remains committed to the efficient completion of these investigations. We understand the intent behind the 30-day time frame; however, occasionally circumstances extend testing beyond that window. All Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits are being tested and we continue to explore ways to improve the workflow to complete this aspect of the casework. As we continue to enhance the process, our commitment to the survivors of these crimes remains our top priority."Higgins, herself a survivor of sexual assault, said the time limits were put into the law to try and rebuild trust between survivors and law enforcement. Missing the deadline hurts that effort, she said."What's your message to the Boston crime lab?" 5 Investigates' Karen Anderson asked."I hope that they understand the severity of these delays and the impacts and the harm that it leads to, not only the survivors whose kits are being delayed, but to any current survivor and future survivor, and how that impacts our willingness to come forward and share our stories and believe that law enforcement are going to take us seriously," Higgins replied.

ddef8255d9ead675e2fc2379c4276e7c

crime

US brings charges against four Russian soldiers accused of war crimes against an American in Ukraine

CNN — Four Russian soldiers have been charged with war crimes against an American who was living in Ukraine during the Russian invasion, according to court documents unsealed in federal court in Virginia. The case against Russian soldiers marks the first time the US government has used a decades-old law aimed to prosecute those who commit war crimes against American citizens. According to the indictment, the Russian soldiers violently abducted the American from his home in the Ukrainian village of Mylove. The soldiers allegedly beat and tortured the American in a Russian military compound, where he was held for 10 days in April 2022. After abducting him, the Russian soldiers allegedly stripped the American naked, tied his hands behind his back and beat him with their fists, feet and the stocks of their guns. While he was being illegally held by the Russian soldiers, the American was allegedly tortured by the four defendants and other unnamed co-defendants during at least two interrogation sessions. They stripped him naked, severely beat him and photographed him, according to the indictment. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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crime

Police: Man accused of killing officer, National Grid worker intentionally tried to hit other officers

Police claim a New Hampshire man facing charges in connection with the death of a Waltham police officer and a National Grid worker also tried to “intentionally” hit other police officers while he was running from officials Wednesday. Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, N.H., crashed through a worksite on Totten Pond Road at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, killing Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, 58, and a National Grid worker, identified in court as Roderick Jackson, 36, of Cambridge, and injuring two other utility employees, authorities said.

6917e46f6c785f4021d151e69da73f75

crime

Mass. police salute fellow officer killed in Waltham crash

Part one of the reunion episode of “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” will air on MTV Thursday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. ET. The new episode from season 6 will be available on streaming platforms like Philo, which offers a free trial. Viewers can also use other streaming services to watch the show like DirecTV and FuboTV. Both offer a free trial for new users interested in signing up for an account. According to MTV, “the Jersey Shore family dynamic is shaken up by the return of Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, this season’s plus-one to all the chaos and adventures.” Returning “Jersey Shore” cast members will include Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Deena Nicole Cortese and Angelina Pivarnick. In the new episode, “after partying in Las Vegas, the gang head back to the East Coast, celebrating milestones in Atlantic City and settling in for an extended summer stay at the Shore, reliving their glory days together.” How can I watch ‘Jersey Shore: Family Vacation’ without cable? Streaming platforms are always available if you don’t have access to cable, like Philo, DirecTV and FuboTV. All three streaming services offer a free 7-day trial for users who are interested in signing up. What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, such as sports, news, entertainment and local channels. What is DirecTV? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. DirecTV also offers a free trial for any package you sign up.

fe794667cc15f558b4dc87a4153d4513

crime

Dedham Total Wine employee assaulted at knifepoint by group in parking lot

A male employee of Total Wine & More in Dedham was assaulted by a group of people at knifepoint in the store’s parking lot Sunday evening, according to Dedham police. Dedham Police Chief Michael d’Entremont said the attack stemmed from an incident Saturday during which the employee denied service to a man at the Dedham mall store. On Sunday, about half a dozen people assaulted the employee in the store’s parking lot around 8 p.m., d’Entremont said. Two of the people were wielding knifes. Read more: Early morning Boston shooting leaves man with life-threatening injuries The group eventually fled, d’Entremont said. The employee was evaluated by paramedics at the scene, but declined further medical assistance. Police are still looking for suspects in the case. Total Wine & More did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

55109dbb7a081caa45affd266cb57651

crime

Driver fled after crashing into Lakeville Dollar Tree, police say

Lakeville police are investigating after a driver crashed into the front of a Dollar Tree Sunday morning and fled the scene, according to police. Police and firefighters responded to 56 Main St. around 10 a.m. after reports came in that a vehicle had hit the store, Lakeville police said in a press release Sunday evening. Officers’ initial investigation determined the vehicle had jumped the curb and hit the building, damaging the storefront. No injuries were reported, and the town’s building commissioner was notified of the crash, police said. Pictures from the scene shared to social media show broken glass on the pavement and store windows dented inward. MassLive reached out to Lakeville police Monday morning to find out if anyone had been arrested for the crash but did not hear back immediately. MassLive also reached out to Dollar Tree to find out whether its Lakeville location is open, but did not get a response immediately. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Lakeville police at 508-947-4422.

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crime

Can you help catch a killer? Hampden DA invites public to expand DNA database to solve cold cases

SPRINGFIELD — The Hampden District Attorney’s office is asking for the public’s help to bring justice for families who lost loved ones in violent attacks that are decades old, with their killers still at large. Investigators hope to parlay the explosion in popularity of DNA ancestry testing to make strides in old homicides and sexual assault cases that were gathering dust in police departments across the county.

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crime

2 held without bail in deadly shooting at Brockton restaurant

Like many people in the tiny town of Why, Ariz., Stephanie Fierro’s life revolves around the nearby border crossing. She works at a roadside café serving enchiladas to American tourists passing through on their way to beach resorts in Mexico. Her husband, a Mexican citizen, lives on the other side. That link was severed last week when United States border officials closed the port of entry in nearby Lukeville, Ariz., to cope with an influx of thousands of migrants who have been camping out in a rugged patch of desert along the border wall. Border officials have said they had to close the port to legal crossings in order to focus all their resources on the surge of unlawful crossings. It has created a split-screen crisis — a humanitarian emergency at the border, where hundreds of migrants are burning cactuses and trash to keep warm at night, and an economic disaster for people in rural southern Arizona whose lives and livelihoods depend on the now-shuttered border crossing. “We come and go every day,” said Ms. Fierro, 26, who is eight months pregnant with her second child. If the border stays closed, she said, she doubts she will be able to see her husband before her due date. “That’s just wrong.”

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crime

Mom says daughter sexually assaulted, sues Boston, bus company

Two men appeared in court Tuesday after being charged in a deadly shooting inside a restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts. Joe Araujo was fatally shot Friday evening at Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet on Crescent Street. The suspects were arrested Monday night, but their identities were not released until they were arraigned the following day. The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office said 18-year-old Jamal Bazile and 22-year-old Nathan Veiga had been ordered held without bail. Both men face murder charges. Bazile is also charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and discharge of a firearm, while Veiga is also charged with accessory before the fact. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Bazile and Veiga pleaded not guilty to all charges against them, prosecutors said. One person was shot dead in a restaurant in Brockton and investigators say it was a targeted attack. The entire incident was caught on surveillance video, which the district attorney’s office released over the weekend with a warning for graphic content. The video showed the brazen gunman walk right up to the victim's table, pull out a gun and shoot Araujo at point blank range before fleeing. There were families with children inside at the time, and the video shows their mad dash to safety. Despite the restaurant being packed, no one else was injured in the shooting. Araujo's family told NBC10 Boston earlier Monday that they were searching for answers after their loved one was gunned down, leaving them shocked and heartbroken. "It's been like hell. Nothing could take this pain away," said his sister, Andrea Monteiro. Two people arrested in connection to the shooting death of 22-year-old Joe Araujo will face a judge Tuesday afternoon. The identities of the two people were not immediately released. Officials didn’t say what charges they are facing. As the family started to plan his funeral, they were left wondering who could do such a thing, vowing to find justice. "Who did this to my son?" Ana Inocencio said. "He has to pay. Sooner or later he has to pay." The district attorney's office said they believed Araujo was targeted by the suspect who was wearing a mask at the time of the shooting. The 22-year-old victim leaves behind two children.

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crime

Westfield police nab 3 youths for stealing pride flag from oft-targeted home

WESTFIELD — Police apprehended three boys last week suspected of stealing a Progress Pride flag from the front porch of a home on South Maple Street, the same home that has been targeted by vandals and thieves on five occasions in recent years. “An investigation is ongoing to determine if these three juveniles are responsible for the vandalism and larcenies” over the past year, said Police Capt. Steve Dickinson when he confirmed this week that three 15-year-olds, had been caught on Nov. 16 after the most recent incident. He also said the three teens will face charges, yet to be determined, in Juvenile Court. In the prior incidents, the last of which was reported in January, suspects were recorded on security cameras but couldn’t be identified. During each incident, including the most recent, the suspects were wearing dark hoodies and had their faces covered. However, before last week’s incident, an Apple AirTag was attached to one of the flags, which allowed police officers to track it to an area on Maplewood Avenue, Dickinson said. While the flag was not recovered, the attached tracking device did help officers determine the general direction in which the boys had fled. The incident began at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 16, when the owner of the South Maple Street home called to report they had recorded, on a security camera, several youths on the front porch stealing one flagpole and its attached flag, and damaging another flagpole that was flying a second flag, Dickinson said. Moments later, a neighbor of the targeted home called police and told them he saw the youths immediately after they had taken the flag and tried to talk to them, but they ran into some nearby woods, Dickinson said. When the first officer arrived, he spotted two boys running along South Maple Street toward Pleasant Street and gave chase, eventually catching up with one of them, Dickinson said, adding the officer suffered a minor knee injury during the chase. Another officer, while searching for the boys, spotted another riding a bicycle who fit the description provided to responding officers. After another brief chase, he took the boy into custody, Dickinson said. The two boys apprehended were taken to their respective homes. One of the boys an officer interviewed at his parents’ home identified the third teen involved. Dickinson applauded the “rapid response” of the officers that led to the three being identified as suspects in the incident. The Progress Pride flag is a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance. It contains the rainbow pattern of the traditional pride flag, as well as symbols and colors representing transgender people, intersex people, people with HIV and AIDS, and racial minorities.

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crime

Yarmouth husband, wife found guilty of child abuse charges

A Yarmouth couple was found guilty on Thursday of several child abuse charges after a seven-day trial in Barnstable Superior Court, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois’ office announced. Brian Barnicle, 42, was found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault and battery, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, one count of strangulation and four counts of intimidation of a witness, Galibois’ office said in a statement. Crystale Barnicle, 43, was found guilty of two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and three counts of wanton/recklessly permitting bodily injury to a child under 14. Read more: Longmeadow woman sues Costco over spinal fracture after she tried to lift bulk water On several dates between 2016 and 2021, two victims were repeatedly physically abused by Brian Barnicle, Galibois’ office said. This included physical strikes using a belt, a cane and fists, and strangling. These assaults on the victims caused gashes, a black eye, physical discomfort, permanent marking and moments of unconsciousness. Crystale Barnicle did not strike either of the victims, Galibois’ office said. However, she was aware of the abuse, watched it happen and never attempted to intervene, call for help or remove the victims from “the substantial and unjustifiable risk of injury,” Galibois’ office noted. An investigation of the abuse ensued by Yarmouth police, but the Barnicles intimidated the victims and any witnesses involved, the district attorney’s office said. The statement added that Galibois wished to recognize the “courage of the victims and witnesses that testified before the court and jury on this case.” The Barnicles are due to return to Barnstable Superior Court for sentencing on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

711d281cc2c7f33807f3d664dd62fb08

crime

Vt. man with Hells Angels ties pleads guilty in Springfield federal court on firearm, narcotics charges

SPRINGFIELD — A man with ties to the Hells Angels pleaded guilty in Springfield federal court today to gun and meth charges stemming from a car stop in December 2021. Jeffrey Baird, 43, from Springfield, Vermont, admitted to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and one count of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Baird was taken into custody in December 2021 after he was stopped by law enforcement for having a fake paper license plate taped to his back window. After officers searched his vehicle, they found a revolver and five rounds of ammunition, along with 207 grams of methamphetamine — worth $6,000 to $10,000 on the street — in a Ziploc bag. Baird’s Hells Angels vest contained an additional three rounds of ammunition. Baird has prior convictions for firearm offenses that bar him from possessing firearms and ammunition. His sentencing is scheduled for April 4. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition comes with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine includes a sentence up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million.

078f2a0b91dca24670c7ec4ed5033482

crime

Fatal overdoses in Massachusetts remain at grim record highs

In Massachusetts, there’s no let up in the pace of deaths after a drug overdose. A bi-annual report out Wednesday from the state Department of Public Health showed the rate is expected to hold steady through the end of the year. It was a grim reminder that overdoses remain one of the most challenging public health crises facing the state, as well as the nation. The fatal overdose rate remained high even as the state flooded outreach groups with naloxone, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, funded more mobile treatment programs and opened housing for people using drugs. Public health officials have also targeted programs in the hardest hit areas: Boston, Worcester, Plymouth County and the Cape and Islands. State Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said he’s hopeful these efforts, and others, are saving lives. But he acknowledged, “It’s hard to find hope in the numbers.” Deaths are leveling off, “but we’re leveling off at the highest number of opioid-related overdose deaths that we’ve ever seen in the commonwealth,” Goldstein said during a briefing on the data. “That’s a really jarring, sobering number to have to report every six months.” A key challenge for Massachusetts, and the country, is the widespread threat of fentanyl. This synthetic opioid is often detected in cocaine, methamphetamines and fake Xanax or Adderall pills. It can kill people who have no idea they are at risk for an overdose death. Fatal overdoses where both cocaine and fentanyl were present increased 11% in the past year, the report found. State public health officials said they plan to launch a Night Life campaign focused on occasional drug users. It will explain the fentanyl risk. The state Department of Public Health already funds an overdose prevention hotline where staffers alert emergency medical services if the caller becomes unresponsive. In addition to fentanyl, public health experts said autopsies are also showing more xylazine mixed with other drugs. It’s an animal tranquilizer that can complicate efforts to revive someone who has overdosed. “We have a toxic drug supply that does not just affect people who have an opiate use disorder,” said Deirdre Calvert, director of the state’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. But Calvert cautioned outreach campaigns will be ineffective unless people feel comfortable discussing drug use. That can be difficult if they risk legal, financial and personal repercussions. We have to “allow people to access treatment without fear of incarceration, fear of losing their children, fear of not having health insurance,” Calvert said. Massachusetts is, for the first time, posting more details about the people who suffer a fatal overdose. Goldstein said for every fatal overdose between 2013 and 2021 there were nine non-fatal overdoses. One of every 11 people who experienced a non-fatal opioid overdose later died after an OD. In addition, having a mental, mobility or developmental disability doubled or tripled the risk of a non-fatal overdose, the data showed. Goldstein said the state will use this information to target services like vending machines where people can purchase clean needles and other supplies, hospital-based addiction specialists, emergency room trainings on medications to treat a substance use disorder and walk-in clinics where people who use drugs can begin treatment. The Department of Public Health is also releasing a report that recommends the Legislature pass laws that would make it easier for municipalities to open supervised injection, or overdose prevention, sites where staff are on hand to reverse an overdose if needed. The latest reports don’t update information about racial disparities in overdose deaths. Data released in June showed substantially higher death rates for Black and Hispanic people. Massachusetts has made equity its top priority in spending settlement funds stemming from lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors, committing $10 million a year. The bulk of that, $6.5 million, is dedicated to programs for men and women leaving prison, because fatal overdoses soon after incarceration are common.

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crime

Suspect in Davis Stabbings Can Now Stand Trial, Judge Rules

A former college student accused of stabbing two people to death and injuring a third near the campus of the University of California, Davis, is now competent to stand trial after being treated in a psychiatric hospital, a judge in Northern California ruled on Friday. Acting on a recommendation from the Department of State Hospitals, Judge Samuel T. McAdam of Yolo County Superior Court concluded that the former student, Carlos Reales Dominguez, 21, now met California’s legal requirement that criminal defendants understand the legal proceedings against them and are able to assist their lawyers in their defense. Mr. Reales Dominguez was arrested shortly after the attacks, and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder. But his mental condition, a concern from the start of the case, soon disrupted preparations for his trial. At a hearing in August, Judge McAdam found him to be incompetent, and he was sent shortly thereafter to a state mental hospital in Atascadero, Calif., a spokeswoman for the Yolo County district attorney said.

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crime

Two cars crash through former Boston Market in Saugus

Local News Two cars crash through former Boston Market in Saugus A Boston man crashed into a parked car, police said, and will face a string of charges related to the crash including drug possession. Courtesy of Saugus Police Department Two vehicles flipped into a former Boston Market in Saugus Monday night after a man crashed into a parked car, police said. Saugus police said a 62-year-old man from Boston driving a Volvo crashed into a unoccupied Toyota Prius around 7:23 p.m. on Monday, and both vehicles flipped into the restaurant at 168 Broadway. A dramatic photo shows the two overturned vehicles inside the building’s storefront. The man driving was the only person involved in the crash. He was transported to a medical facility with non-life threatening injuries. An investigation showed the Volvo was traveling very quickly going northbound on Route 1 when it left the roadway and struck the parked car, Saugus police said. Advertisement: Saugus police said the driver is facing pending charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating with a suspended license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and possession of a class A substance, which the police said they believe is fentanyl or heroin. The man will be expected in court as the charges are filed.

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crime

Teen apprehended, gun recovered at Boston school, police say

15-year-old apprehended, gun recovered at Boston school, police say Share Copy Link Copy WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THIS STORY COMING UP AT 6:00. ALSO BREAKING A STUDENT WAS ARRESTED AFTER THIS GUN AND THESE BULLETS WERE ALLEGEDLY FOUND FOUND IN HIS BACKPACK. THE DISTURBING DISCOVERIES MADE AT THE SNOWDEN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL TODAY. NEWSCENTER 5 JOHN ATWATER LIVE IN BOSTON WITH THE POLICE RESPONSE JOHN. WELL, ERICA, YOU SAW THE PICTURE THERE. POLICE SAY TEN BULLETS WERE FOUND IN THAT GUN. SO THAT PROMPTED A LARGE INVESTIGATION HERE TODAY. THE SCHOOL WENT INTO SAFE MODE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR TODAY. POLICE SAY THEY FOUND THAT HANDGUN AND A 15 YEAR OLD STUDENT’S BACKPACK. INVESTIGATORS SAY THAT STAFF AT THE SCHOOL WERE ALERTED THAT THE STUDENT MAY HAVE A WEAPON, BUT IT’S NOT CLEAR WHO WARNED STAFF ABOUT THAT THREAT. NOW, THIS ALL HAPPENED JUST BEFORE NOON AT THE SNOWDEN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AND THAT 15 YEAR OLD WAS ARRESTED. OTHERS WHO WORK IN THE AREA AND SAW THE POLICE RESPONSE TODAY ARE NOW WONDERING WHAT COULD HAVE PROMPTED THE TEEN TO BRING THE GUN TO SCHOOL. I REALLY THINK THAT THERE’S NO SUPERVISION THAT AND THEN I THOUGHT MAYBE PERSONAL THINGS THAT HE’S, YOU KNOW, A 15 YEAR OLD’S BRAIN ISN’T REALLY DEVELOPED ALL THE WAY THAT HE’S TRYING TO MAKE FRIENDS OR BE COOL OR WHAT. YOU KNOW, THERE’S A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN OR THAT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING UNFORTUNATE HAPPENED IN SCHOOL OR THERE WAS GOING TO BE SOMETHING BAD THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. WELL, THANKFULLY NO ONE WAS HURT HERE TODAY. AND ALONG WITH THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES THAT TEENAGER IS NOW FACING, THE SCHOOL SAYS HE WILL ALSO FACE DISCIPLINARY GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice

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crime

House in Arlington, Va., Explodes as Police Prepare to Serve Search Warrant

Update: The authorities said the occupant of the house, James Yoo, 56, was presumed to have died in the blast. A house in Arlington, Va., exploded into flames on Monday night while the police were preparing to search it after reports of gunfire and a standoff with the man who lived there. The police first went to the home around 4:45 p.m. following reports that shots had been heard, the Arlington County Police Department said. A preliminary investigation indicated that the resident had fired a flare gun about 30 to 40 times inside his home into the surrounding neighborhood, according to a statement from the police. Officers obtained a search warrant and tried to make contact with the resident over the telephone and loudspeakers. But he did not respond and remained barricaded inside the home. As officers were preparing to serve the search warrant, he discharged several rounds from inside his home with what the police believe was a firearm. Then the explosion took place at the residence at 8:25 p.m. Early Tuesday, the police had not identified the man inside the home or what his condition was. The police said on social media that residents should avoid the area, part of a densely populated suburban neighborhood with parks, restaurants and schools.

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crime

Murder in Boston HBO documentary director Hehir hopes for healing

Hehir recalled how shocked his teachers were when news broke that Charles had committed suicide; it was the day after Matthew Stuart confessed to police that he’d helped his brother dispose of the gun used to kill Charles’s wife, Carol, in Mission Hill on Oct. 23, 1989 . The director, who grew up in West Newton, was in eighth grade at the time and a “bit of a news junkie” who followed the coverage of the Charles and Carol Stuart shooting and its aftermath “on a daily basis,” he said. Advertisement “We could hear them say, ‘This poor guy, he just couldn’t take the grief anymore,’” Hehir told the Globe in a Zoom interview Thursday. “I’ve always had that memory of, even when the truth came out and everything was obvious, it was very difficult for the community to wrap their heads around what the truth actually was and how monstrous an act this was.” The Globe and Hehir, who directed the 2020 Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance,” revisit the 1989 case with “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, Reckoning,” a three-part documentary presented by HBO in association with The Boston Globe that debuts Monday on HBO and Max. “Murder in Boston,” the nine-part original investigative podcast produced by the Globe and presented along with HBO, also launches across podcast services Monday, while the Globe’s “Nightmare in Mission Hill” eight-part investigative series is now available to read. The multimedia project, which includes Globe reporting, explores the circumstances surrounding the shooting as well as how the media frenzy and police investigation impacted the members of Mission Hill’s Black community. In his 911 call on Oct. 23, 1989, Charles claimed a Black man had shot him and his pregnant wife in Mission Hill. The deaths of Carol and Christopher, the couple’s baby who was born by C-section the night of the shooting, heightened racial tensions in the city and set off a manhunt in the Boston neighborhood. Advertisement In addition to diving into the case and its aftermath, the multimedia project explores Boston’s history with racial violence stemming from the battles over busing in the 1970s and the rise of stop-and-frisk tactics in the wake of the 1980s crack epidemic. “The Stuart case was always the No. 1 story that I wanted to tell,” said Hehir. “Not because it’s just a riveting true-crime story, but because there’s such another layer to it with the racial element and examining Boston’s fraught racial history through the lens of this case.” Much of the first episode, titled “Roots,” examines flashpoint moments like the uproar by white Bostonians over the 1974 Garrity decision, which ordered the desegregation of the city’s schools through busing. Hehir felt it was important to shine a light on these tumultuous chapters in Boston’s past to provide context for the Stuart case. “It wasn’t in a vacuum,” Hehir said of the racially charged events that led up to the case. “This had been bubbling for years, if not decades, in the city. I felt that it was really necessary to give the viewer all the background we could in order for them to appreciate exactly how and why this happened.” Advertisement For two years, Hehir, 47, traveled back and forth between New York and Boston to film the documentary, often staying in the basement of his parents’ West Newton home. The director and his team visited Mission Hill and Roxbury on many occasions, meeting with community members who “felt the consequences of the Boston police and of the justice system throughout their lives.” The series features interviews with family members of Willie Bennett, a Black man who was wrongly accused in the Stuart case. The documentary highlights the mistreatment by police that Bennett, his family, and Mission Hill’s wider Black community faced during the investigation. “This is a story about the victimization of the Mission Hill community and of the Bennett family,” said Hehir, who recently hosted a private screening in Boston for Bennett’s family. “It’s clear, just from the amount of tears shed watching that footage, how much this still stays with that family and what an injustice this truly was generationally.” “It’s the reason why I wanted to tell the story,” he added. Hehir and the team behind the project combed through emergency calls, tape recordings of interrogations, and a ton of archival videos, including footage from “Rescue 911.” The reality series happened to have a camera crew already embedded with the EMS personnel that first responded to Charles’s 911 call. Looking back at all the details and new clues that emerged during research, Hehir said, he was surprised by the amount of people who seemed to know Charles was behind the shooting and the “ample information” available in the “days, if not hours, after the murder that would have led” police to him. Advertisement “This wasn’t the mystery that we all thought it was,” said Hehir. “If they had gone to Revere and knocked on some doors and been as persistent with the Stuart family as they were with the residents of Mission Hill — and I use ‘persistent’ euphemistically — then I think that this could have been settled a lot sooner and with a lot less pain felt.” Hehir hopes the documentary will inspire a “larger discussion about these issues” and start the healing process for the people of Mission Hill. “I would love to see an apology to the Bennett family,” said Hehir. “A formal public apology to the Bennett family would be hugely useful and would be a source of great healing for the community and for the family itself — for the city to acknowledge what the Bennett family went through unjustly.” “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, Reckoning” debuts Monday on HBO and Max. The “Murder in Boston” podcast and “Nightmare in Mission Hill” series are also now available. This story has been updated to clarify production credits on the “Murder in Boston” podcast and documentary. Matt Juul can be reached at matt.juul@globe.com.

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crime

Nate Landrebe IDd as man shot, killed by police during New Hampshire standoff

More episodes of Hulu’s “Only Murders In The Building” will air on ABC on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. EST. Episodes 7-9 from season 1 will air back to back starting at 9 p.m. EST. Viewers can stream the show by using FuboTV or DirecTV. Both streaming services offer free trials. Since the show is a Hulu original, viewers can also stream the series on Hulu with a subscription and will get their first month free when they sign up. Plans for Hulu start as low as $7.99 a month and give you access to thousands of shows and movies. According to a description on Hulu, “three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one.” The show stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. How can I watch “Only Murders In The Building?” Viewers looking to binge the new season can do so with a Hulu subscription. A Hulu subscription with ads starts at just $7.99 a month and offers a 30-day free trial for new users. A subscription with no ads is $14.99 a month, also with a free trial. Viewers can bundle Disney+ with Hulu for $9.99 a month or bundle Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 a month. Viewers can also bundle all three, disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ with no-ads for $19.99 a month or bundle all three streaming services with live TV for $69.99 a month

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crime

3rd teen dies after violent crash on Morrissey Boulevard, state police say

WITH MORE ON THIS. PETER. YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT. MARIA THE ENTIRE SCOPE OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FROM WHETHER OR NOT THOSE KIDS WERE POSSESSING A FIREARM AND STOLE THAT CAR TO WHETHER OR NOT OFFICERS WHO WERE PURSUING IT WERE DOING SO CORRECTLY. IT’S JUST A VERY, VERY PAINFUL AND DIFFICULT TIME FOR EVERYONE RIGHT NOW. MAYOR MICHELLE WU, REACTING TO THE DEATHS OF A 14 AND 15 YEAR OLD KILLED EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING IN THIS ROLLOVER CRASH ON MORSI BOULEVARD IN DORCHESTER, ACCORDING TO STATE POLICE, A TOTAL OF FOUR JUVENILES WERE IN THIS STOLEN CAR, WHICH APPEARED TO BE SPEEDING BEFORE IT CRASHED. TROOPERS SAY THEY LOCATED A FIREARM INSIDE THE VEHICLE AS WELL, BUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF WHAT LED UP TO THIS MOMENT ARE FACING SCRUTINY. GOT A CAR TAKEN OFF FROM US ON GALVIN, DISPATCHED. TRANSMISSIONS SHOW THAT CAR WAS BRIEFLY BEING PURSUED BY BOSTON POLICE, BUT THE CHASE WAS CALLED OFF BY SUPERVISORS. OKAY, JUST TO CONFIRM, WE HAVE NOBODY PURSUING THE MOTOR VEHICLE. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. NO PURSUING. BUT SURVEILLANCE VIDEO OBTAINED BY NEWS CENTER FIVE SHOWS THAT CAR DRIVING ON MORSI BOULEVARD SECONDS BEFORE THE CRASH. AND MULTIPLE CRUISERS BEHIND IT WITH THEIR BLUE LIGHTS ACTIVATED IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS WHERE, UM, IT’S UNCLEAR FROM THE AUDIO AND AND OTHER INFORMATION THAT IS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE, WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED. THERE’S A DEEPER INVESTIGATION THAT GOES TO PUT THAT ALL TO LOOK AT EVERY FACET OF THAT AND PUT IT TOGETHER. NOW, TWO OTHER TEENAGERS WERE BADLY INJURED AS A RESULT OF THIS. THEY THEIR IDENTITIES HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED. THE SUFFOLK COUNTY DA’S OFFICE SAYS THIS ENTIRE SITUATION REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION AND CHARGES STEMMING FROM THIS INCIDENT ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE TWO SURVIVING OCCUPANTS OF THAT CAR. WE’RE LIVE Advertisement 3rd teen dies after violent crash on Boston's Morrissey Boulevard, Massachusetts State Police say Share Copy Link Copy A third teen has died after last week's violent single-vehicle crash on Boston's Morrissey Boulevard, according to Massachusetts State Police. A 17-year-old from Roslindale died earlier this week at a Boston hospital, police said. On Jan. 4 at 3:17 a.m., a stolen silver Hyundai was traveling at a high rate of speed when it crashed and rolled over on Morrissey Boulevard. A 14-year-old from Dorchester and a 15-year-old from Mattapan were killed. A fourth teen, a 15-year-old from Dorchester, was expected to survive.The teen's names have not been released. Troopers said a firearm was found inside the vehicle.The crash remains under investigation, including the actions of Boston police before it. Last Friday, Mayor Michelle Wu confirmed the city is looking into whether officers followed appropriate protocol in their pursuit of the stolen car before that crash.“It's just a very, very painful and difficult time for everyone,” Wu said. Audio from that morning indicated the vehicle had been pursued by police. “Got a car taking off on us on Gallivan,” an officer was heard saying on the radio.Dispatch transmissions show the car was briefly being pursued by Boston police, but the chase was called off by supervisors.“Just to confirm, we have nobody pursuing the motor vehicle,” a supervisor was heard saying on the radio. “Correct. No pursuing,” an officer responded.But surveillance video obtained by WCVB shows the car driving on Morrisey Boulevard seconds before the crash and multiple cruisers behind it with their blue lights activated.“In situations like this where it's unclear from the audio and other information that is immediately available, what exactly happened, there's a deeper investigation that goes to look at all — every facet of that and put it together,” Wu said. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said the crash remains under investigation, and charges stemming from this are possible for the surviving occupant of the car.

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crime

Fall River man sentenced for OUI crash that killed his friend

A Fall River man was sentenced to state prison on Wednesday after he pled guilty to a drunk driving crash that resulted in the death of his friend, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III’s office announced. Jason Lindsay, 23, pled guilty in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with manslaughter while operating under the influence and two counts of operating under the influence with serious injury, Quinn’s office said in a statement. On Jan. 29, 2021, Lindsay picked up Jaedin Monteiro, 18, along with another Fall River man, 19, and a Fall River teenager, 15, in his 2003 Lexus sedan. That afternoon, they went to a liquor store where Lindsay met an unknown man who bought several alcohol mini bottles of Captain Morgan for him, Quinn’s office said. Lindsay drank one outside the car and one inside the car as he drove off. The four then smoked marijuana as the car kept moving, Quinn’s office said. When they entered Dartmouth, Lindsay started to drive recklessly and driving fast at about 100 mph, Massachusetts State Police later determined. Driving on Route 6, the car swerved and Lindsay lost control, striking a utility pole near the China Belle Restaurant, Quinn’s office said. The crash ripped the back seat passenger door behind Lindsay, next to where Monteiro sat. He had serious injuries to his head and died. Read more: Franklin teen killed in Hopkinton car crash identified The 19- and 15-year-olds were both seriously injured, with the 15-year-old suffering a fractured vertebrae, a neck fracture and fluid on his right knee, Quinn’s office said. The 19-year-old had two fractures to his lower back. Lindsay only had minor injuries. The State Police investigation found that Lindsay over-corrected the car’s speed and it began to spin after the back end of the driver’s side hit the utility pole. The back of the car had “catastrophic damage and continued hundreds of feet before coming to a rest,” the statement read. The speed limit for that stretch of road where the crash happened is 35 mph, Quinn’s office said. No one in the car was wearing a seatbelt. Read more: Former Stoneham police officer sentenced for defrauding landlords Lindsay was sentenced to serve five to seven years in state prison. “This is yet another tragic example of a defendant driving recklessly while drunk, and causing death and serious injuries to his friends,” Quinn said in the statement. “My heart goes out to the families of all who have been impacted for the rest of their lives by this terrible, yet avoidable, accident.”

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crime

Uvalde school shooting: DOJ review faults police for big delays in confronting gunman

The Justice Department released a damning report on the police response to the May 2022 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday. The report states that police should have immediately confronted the gunman, but failed to do so. The report specifically mentions Pete Arredondo, the former Uvalde School District police chief, saying he improperly treated the active shooter scenario as a barricaded subject situation. "The most significant failure was that responding officers should have immediately recognized the incident as an active shooter situation, using the resources and equipment that were sufficient to push forward immediately and continuously toward the threat until entry was made into classrooms 111/112 and the threat was eliminated," the report says. "Several of the first officers on scene initially acted consistent with generally accepted practices to try to engage the subject, and they moved quickly towards classrooms 111/112 within minutes of arriving. But once they retreated after being met with gunfire, the law enforcement responders, including UCISD PD Chief Pete Arredondo – who we conclude was the de facto on-scene incident commander – began treating the incident as a barricaded subject scenario and not as an active shooter situation," it continues. UVALDE SHOOTING REPORT FINDS 'CULTURE OF NONCOMPLIANCE' AMONG STAFF, 'TACITLY CONDONED' BY ADMINISTRATORS Officers turned back from entering the classroom after suffering "graze wounds from shrapnel" despite hearing a "barrage of gunfire erupting" inside of the classrooms. The report goes on to say that police improperly waited for SWAT teams before gaining entry to the two classrooms. They also waited on requests for classroom keys and breaching equipment that may not have been necessary to enter the rooms. Ultimately, the shooter was not killed until approximately 77 minutes after police first arrived, the report says. IOWA PARENTS URGE IMPROVED SAFETY MEASURES IN DISTRICT AFTER FATAL SCHOOL SHOOTING "Since the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, a fundamental precept in active shooter response and the generally accepted practice is that the first priority must be to immediately neutralize the subject; everything else, including officer safety, is subordinate to that objective," the report states. The shooter, Salvador Ramos, killed 19 children and two teachers before police neutralized him. READ THE FULL DOJ REPORT The DOJ's extensive report mirrors the findings from another inquiry by the Texas House of Representatives Investigative Committee, which published its findings in 2022. The Texas investigation also found that school administrators adopted a "regrettable culture of noncompliance" with safety and security measures. It said the school "tacitly condoned" unsafe practices by knowingly violating or allowing others to violate rules that required doors to be closed and locked. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP More details from the DOJ investigation are expected to be released later Thursday. READ THE FULL DOJ CRITICAL INCIDENT REPORT BELOW: This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

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crime

More card skimming devices found at Massachusetts grocery stores

Card skimmers have been found at grocery stores across the Boston area in recent weeks, which may be giving shoppers more to worry about as they pick up food for the week. Roche Bros. Supermarkets reported on Wednesday that they recently discovered credit card skimmers at self-checkout locations in five stores: Sudbury Farms in Sudbury, Mass. Sudbury Farms in Needham, Mass. Brothers Marketplace in, Weston, Mass. Roche Bros. Supermarket in Wellesley, Mass. Roche Bros. Supermarket in Natick, Mass. Needham police say a skimmer was also found at a Roche Bros. store in Cambridge. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Card skimmers are devices placed on ATMs or credit card readers that secretly scan cards, stealing the data contained on them, so the person who put it in place can use the information for fraudulent purchases. They're often associated with gas stations, but at least seven of the devices have been discovered at stores in New England in the last two months. Recent Mass., NH card skimmer reports Concord, New Hampshire In mid-November, Concord police warned that two men, wanted for trying to scam shoppers out of their credit card information across New England, were seen on surveillance video installing skimmers at a local Walmart and Market Basket. On Oct. 19, the Walmart on Loudon Road alerted police that a loss prevention associate at the store had located a credit card skimmer affixed to one of the registers in the self-checkout lane. On Oct. 27, police received a call from the Market Basket on Storrs Street saying a similar device had been found attached to one of the registers in their express lane checkout, officials said. Devices used steal credit card data were installed at multiple Market Basket and Walmart stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Concord police said their investigation determined that both devices they observed had been installed by the same two people on Oct. 17. And they said similar incidents are being investigated by law enforcement agencies across New England. Reading, Massachusetts Reading police said they received a call on Oct. 30 from a security and loss prevention worker at Market Basket saying that a skimming device had been found on a credit card machine at a register at the store on Oct. 26. The device was located by Market Basket employees on the same day it was placed, and a review of data by the store's IT department indicates that it was removed before any customer data could be stolen. A review of surveillance video shows that one person distracted a clerk while another placed the skimming device on the credit card machine. Get updates on what's happening in Massachusetts to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter. One of the suspects was described as a male wearing a black hat, face mask, black jacket, white shirt, black jeans and white shoes. The other was described as a male wearing a black hat, face mask, black jacket, black shirt, blue jeans and white and black sneakers. Reading police said they are investigating the incident with the assistance of law enforcement partners in other communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Chelsea, Massachusetts On Dec. 5, Chelsea police warned the public about a skimming device found at a register at the local Market Basket. "We have the device and are working with the Market Basket as well as our regional partners to see if the devices are related to other recent incidents," they said in the post. Police told NBC10 Boston at the time that the skimmer device was only up for six minutes. A group of people was involved — one distracted an employee while another placed the device on the register. A credit card skimmer was found at a Market Basket in Chelsea, Massachusetts, police said. Sudbury, Massachusetts Roche Bros. Supermarkets announced on Christmas Eve that two credit card skimmers were found on self-checkout pin pads at their Sudbury Farms grocery store off Route 20. The company's CEO said in a statement they "immediately took steps to secure all registers at all locations and launched an investigation." Roche Bros. Supermarkets announced that the skimmers were discovered at the Sudbury Farms store. The investigation remained ongoing as of Christmas Day. Roche Bros. said it determined the Sudbury Farms store in Sudbury was the only location impacted. “Roche Bros. has strong policies in place to protect against these types of incidents, including conducting multiple security checks daily on our registers," CEO Kevin Barner said. "Roche Bros. is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of our customers’ information and are issuing a press release to try and reach affected and potentially affected customers who we are not able to specifically identify." How to protect yourself against card skimmers One telltale sign that a skimmer is attached is that the card chip reader slot is inoperable and appears to be jammed, causing the customer to swipe the card so the magnetic reader can steal the card's information. One way to avoid the issue is to tap your card if it has that option, rather than swiping. Market Basket has told NBC10 Boston that routine security audits take place daily, which is how they found suspicious devices at stores in Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire, and Haverhill, Reading and Somerville, Massachusetts. The FBI has shared this infographic depicting where criminals can place devices to steal information from card users: FBI If you did shop with a card at a store where a skimmer was found, you're advised to check your account and report anything suspicious to the credit card company or your bank. If your information has been compromised, you may also want to consider closing accounts or placing a freeze on your credit.

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crime

Bristol County DA identifies homicide victim found in Fairhaven after almost 40 years

After nearly 40 years, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office has identified the body of a man who was found on the side of the road in Fairhaven in 1985. The man, who is believed to have been killed, was identified through genetic testing as Cranston, Rhode Island, resident Keith Olson, the DA’s office said in a press release Tuesday. He went missing in 1981 and was 27 at the time. The investigation into Olson’s body On April 8, 1985, a driver traveling west on I-195 in Fairhaven spotted a human skeleton on the side of the road, the DA’s office said. He contacted police and took them to the body’s location — about 45 feet from the road in the brush, just past the Mattapoisett town line. Police searched the scene and recovered the body, as well as some physical evidence, but found nothing indicating who the body belonged to, the DA’s office said. The body was then submitted to the FBI. The FBI lab determined that the body was that of a white man who was around 5-foot-9 inches tall, that he had been killed a few years before his body was found and that a pair of shoes found at the scene had been manufactured in 1981. The skeleton also showed signs of trauma, and the man’s death was ruled a homicide, the DA’s office said. Investigators tried to use dental records to match the skeleton to that of missing persons, but were unsuccessful. They also released information about the body, as well as an image of what they believed the man looked like based on his skull, but came up empty, the DA’s office said. Investigators created a rendering of what they believed the unidentified man looked like.Bristol County District Attorney's Office The skeleton remained unidentified until recently when the DA’s office worked with a private lab and the FBI’s genetic genealogy team to create a genetic profile based on DNA evidence recovered from the remains. The body was identified as Keith Olson using forensic genetic genealogy, which compares a genetic profile to thousands of other DNA profiles to find an unidentified person’s relatives, the DA’s office said. What investigators think happened to Olson Olson was born and raised in Rhode Island, and was last seen on April 15, 1981, the DA’s office said. At the time of his disappearance, Olson had been dating a woman for a short time. This had resulted in “friction” between him and the woman’s ex-boyfriend — North Providence resident John Broccoli, the DA’s office said. Read more: Haverhill man arrested in connection with 2016 slaying of man at N.H. hotel A witness previously told investigators he saw two men escort Olson from his Cranston apartment shortly before he went missing. Additionally, the DA’s office said, on the day Olson was last seen, Broccoli made “cryptic statements” to the woman Olson had been dating that suggested he was involved. Cranston, Rhode Island, resident Keith Olson was 27 when he went missing in 1981.Bristol County District Attorney's Office Broccoli, who was also known as Michael Corleone, died in 2019 at the age of 63, the DA’s office said. According to his obituary, Broccoli was the owner of Spardello’s Clothier in North Providence for over 20 years. He was also the subject of a Rhode Island Supreme Court case that reaffirmed his conviction in a 1985 robbery case. How investigators can close Olson’s case Investigators are asking the public to help them gather information about Olson’s disappearance and killing. “Police have strong reason to believe that the crime was committed by at least two people and believe that there are individuals who could provide helpful information to solve this crime,” the DA’s office wrote in the release. Anyone with information about Olson’s disappearance is asked to call Det. AnnMarie Robertson at (855)-627-6583.

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crime

Dangerous stunt: Transit police trying to ID duo who jumped off moving MBTA train into river below

BOSTON — Authorities are seeking criminal complaints against a pair of suspects who were caught on video attempting dangerous stunts while riding on top of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train. Transit police say the incident, which has recently been circulating on social media, is believed to be several months old. The video shows two suspects riding on top of an inbound Red Line train between North Quincy Station and JFK Station. The duo then jump from the top of the train into the Neponset River below. Dangerous stunt: Duo jump off moving MBTA train into river below Officials say they’re actively investigating the incident. “First and foremost, the stunt depicted within the video is incredibly dangerous and could easily lead to a fatality,” a spokesperson for Transit police said. “Additionally, the actions depicted within are illegal.” Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact transit officials. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

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crime

Family killed in murder-suicide at Dover mansion had money troubles, documents show

A man who was shot and killed by police during a standoff in New Hampshire Monday has been identified as 42-year-old Nate Landrebe, and his death has been ruled a homicide, Attorney General John M. Formella said Tuesday. An autopsy on Landrebe’s body determined that the 42-year-old’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and that the manner of his death was homicide, Formella said on Nov. 21. Landrebe was engaged in an armed standoff with officers at his home at 32 West Bow St. in Franklin, New Hampshire beginning the evening of Nov. 19-20. A woman living across the hall from Landrebe called police saying that he tried to break through her front door just before 10 p.m. on Nov. 20. The woman said she was unharmed. When they arrived, officers saw that the door had been shot at with a gun, according to the attorney general. Officers also heard gunshots coming from inside Landrebe’s apartment. An armed standoff occurred and the New Hampshire State Police SWAT Unit were called to the scene, Formella said. Residents in area of Central and West Bow Streets were forced to shelter in place at around 2:45 a.m. as a result. That order has since been lifted. Smoke was also seen coming from the apartment building around 2:35 a.m. Then, just after 3 a.m., police saw fire from inside the building where Landrebe had exchanged multiple gunshots with state troopers. Landrebe was found with gunshot wounds behind the building near a first-floor window, Formella said. Two SWAT members were said to have fired their weapons during the incident. Their names have yet to be released. First responders tried to perform CPR on Landrebe, but the fire was too strong for them to get close enough to him. He was pronounced dead onsite, Formella said. No one in law enforcement was physically harmed during the standoff, and officials said there is not threat to the public. The building was severely damaged from the fire, which is under investigation by the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office. Officials do not believe the fire was caused by law enforcement action. The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain under active investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available, Formella concluded.

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crime

Man stabbed with knife outside Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus dies at hospital

Officials have not provided a motive for Rakesh Kamal, the 57-year-old Dover man they believe killed his wife and daughter late last month, but public documents indicate that the family had been struggling financially the last few years. On Tuesday, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office released initial autopsy results which confirmed that Teena Kamal and her daughter, 18-year-old Middlebury College student Arianna Kamal, died of gunshot wounds, and that their manner of death was homicide. The autopsy found that Rakesh Kamal died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to federal court documents, 54-year-old Teena Kamal filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in September 2022. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows people with a regular income who can’t pay their debts to keep their property while proposing a repayment plan. The documents list both Teena Kamal’s assets and liabilities as being between $1 and $10 million. They also indicate that the court filed an order to dismiss the bankruptcy case in October 2022 after she failed to file the necessary paperwork or pay the filing fees. Additionally, property records indicate that the family missed mortgage payments for their property at 8 Wilson’s Way in Dover, which included five acres of land and an 11-bedroom mansion. It was sold at auction for $3 million to the Kamals’ mortgage lender, Massachusetts-based Wilsondale Associates, late last year. Even so, the Kamals were apparently still living in the Wilson’s Way mansion when they were killed. Dover police officers found them dead from gunshot wounds in the home on Dec. 28 after a concerned relative called 911. According to public records, the Kamals bought the Wilson Way in early 2019. That same year, Rakesh Kamal stopped working as the managing director and chief technology officer for Harvard Business School Online — a position he’d held since 2015, according to Harvard Business School. In December 2023, Rakesh “Rick” Kamal was listed on the website of EduNova, a Marlborough-based education technology company, as the organization’s president, and Teena Kamal was listed as its chief operating officer. According to The Boston Globe, the website launched in 2016, but was involuntarily dissolved in December 2021. Businesses can be involuntarily dissolved for several reasons, including failing to file annual reports with the Secretary of State’s office, failing to file tax returns with the Commissioner of Revenue or failing pay requisite taxes, according to state documents. Even so, EduNova’s website was still active as recently as August 2023, according to the internet archives. According to Rakesh Kamal’s biography on EduNova’s website, he had “more than 20 years of experience leading large companies” and was a graduate of Boston University, MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Stanford University. According to Teena Kamal’s biography on the website, she was also a Harvard alum and used to work for Fidelity Investments.

bd05728b7cc1809035b0a6afd4bec7e5

crime

2 teens shot to death near gas station in Lynn

Two teenagers were shot and killed near a gas station in Lynn, Massachusetts, Wednesday night, according to authorities. The incident happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Camden Street, near AL Prime gas station on Western Avenue — not too far from this week's triple shooting. The victims, only identified as a 16-year-old youth and a 19-year-old man, were taken to the hospital, where they died, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. No further information was made available. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. This incident comes days after three people were seriously hurt in a shooting at a Pizza Hut on State Street. While police said Tuesday night's shooting was targeted, no arrests have been made. The three victims remain stable in the hospital, the district attorney's office said. It wasn't immediately known if the two shootings were related.

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crime

Man arrested in woman's death at Worcester spa

A man has been arrested a day after a woman was found dead at a massage parlor in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Thanksgiving, as newly-released court documents reveal that the woman was shot in the head. Worcester police announced Friday that 31-year-old Marcel Santos-Padgett, of Leicester, was taken into custody on Friday at Columbia Park in Haverhill. The state police violent fugitive apprehension squad and the Haverhill Police Department assisted Worcester police with the arrest. Santos-Padgett was arrested on an outstanding warrant for armed assault to murder in connection to the investigation into a woman's suspicious death at Angie's Body Work Spa on Thursday, police said. Worcester Police responded to Angie’s Body Work Spa on Pleasant St. for a report of a woman experiencing a medical issue. Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. Investigators have not revealed many details of the circumstances leading up to the shooting, but say they got a call about a woman experiencing a possible medical issue at the Pleasant Street business around 11:37 a.m. Thursday. When officers arrived at the spa, a man flagged them down and brought them to the woman who was unconscious. First responders were not able to revive her and she was pronounced dead on scene. Police initially called the woman's death suspicious but they now say this is a homicide. According to investigators, Santos-Padgett allegedly pulled a gun on the woman inside the massage parlor and shot her in the head. Police were able to identify him from license plate reader data that placed his vehicle in the area of the crime scene. Santos-Padgett lives in Leicester but was arrested at a home in Haverhill on Friday. Court records indicate that investigators have not yet been able to identify the victim. A tenant who rents a room inside the spa told NBC10 Boston he didn’t know much about the incident, and placed a sign on the door referring all questions to police. “When this place opened I said this is bad news for the neighborhood,” said David Balyan who lives on Pleasant Street. Santos-Padgett is expected to be arraigned on Monday. Attorney information was not immediately available.

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crime

Charlotte Sena kidnapping suspect Craig Ross Jr. arraigned overnight

Craig Ross Jr., the 46-year-old New York man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl off a bicycle trail at a state park near Lake George, was arraigned on first-degree kidnapping charges around 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to jail records. Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a late-night news briefing that the suspect had been identified after allegedly leaving his fingerprints on a ransom note that state police witnessed him stuffing into Charlotte Sena's mailbox around 4:20 a.m. Monday. Jail records show he was booked into the Saratoga County Jail in Ballston Spa, New York, around 3:40 a.m. A mugshot was not immediately available. State and federal tactical teams on Monday evening stormed a camper behind his mother's double-wide trailer in Milton, just outside Saratoga Springs. CHARLOTTE SENA RESCUED FROM CAMPER CABINET, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT BUSTED AFTER LEAVING RANSOM NOTE "Within the camper, they located the suspect, ": Hochul said during a Friday evening news briefing in Latham. "After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody, and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet, covered. She was rescued." Charlotte was taken to a local hospital, where she reunited with her family, Hochul said. VIDEO: FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION SCULPTOR REBUILDS CHILD VICTIM IN BID TO IDENTIFY JANE DOE Ross was still being questioned when the governor spoke around 11 p.m. Monday, she said, and court documents were not immediately available before business hours Tuesday. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP CLICK HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS "We are just elated she came home," Jene Sena, Charlotte's aunt, told Fox News Digital Monday evening after the arrest. Fox News' Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.

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crime

Malaysian Prisoners Plead Guilty to Conspiring in 2002 Bali Bombing

Two Malaysian prisoners at Guantánamo Bay pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring in the October 2002 nightclub bombings in the resort island of Bali, Indonesia, that killed more than 200 people. The guilty pleas were the first step in a slowly unfolding proceeding that began when the men, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin, 48, and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, 47, were charged in 2021 — 18 years after their capture in Thailand. Sentencing is scheduled for next week. The pleas were also seen as a breakthrough for military commission prosecutors, who had been seeking deals to resolve long-running cases against former C.I.A. prisoners. Similar talks with the accused plotters of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, ended last year after the Biden administration declined to consider health care and confinement conditions sought by the prisoners. Both defendants were held for years in the C.I.A.’s secret overseas prison network. They were transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006 for trial at the special national-security court that President George W. Bush set up after the Sept. 11 attacks. While in agency custody, according to their lawyers, they were tortured, along with their accused ringleader Encep Nurjaman, an Indonesian prisoner known as Hambali.

20280cc7a4de5629901a01caabf9af80

crime

Two suspects identified in Brockton fatal shooting inside hibachi restaurant

Two men are scheduled to appear in Brockton District Court on Tuesday afternoon to face charges in connection with a brazen shooting inside a hibachi restaurant on Friday evening. Jamal A. Bazile is listed in court filings as charged with murder, and Nathan Veiga is charged with accessory before the fact. A spokesperson for the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office confirmed with MassLive that both men are charged in connection with Friday night’s shooting at Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet.

5c55e1f099781808241fe6690409c8fa

crime

Sixth Grader Killed and 5 Others Injured in Iowa School Shooting

A man who was stabbed with a knife outside of Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus Saturday has died, Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli said Sunday. The man was found with a knife wound in the parking lot of the restaurant, located 948 Broadway, after 9 p.m. on Dec. 2, officials said. He pronounced dead a short time later at Mass General Hospital. The incident is under investigation by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit and detectives from the Saugus Police Department, officials added. Read More: Saugus police to charge 4 people for Kowloon brawl involving glass bottle This stabbing comes just two weeks after a Thanksgiving-Eve brawl at the popular Chinese restaurant. The brawl broke out at the Route 1 restaurant around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 22, according to previous reports. It involved several young men and one person who attacked people with a glass bottle. Saugus police said in a Wednesday news release that four people will be charged in Lynn District Court in connection with the fight. It is unclear what the relationship between the four people is, if one exists, or whether other people will be charged in connection with the incident. Read More: Driver to face OUI charge after crashing into utility pole in Bridgewater A report about the brawl will be sent to the Saugus Board of Selectmen, according to the police release. The Essex County District Attorney’s Office is expected to release more information Sunday afternoon.

2fa3e0053ddd6a84348b999a0a43df0f

crime

Man critically injured in Roxbury shooting

A man is fighting for his life following a shooting Saturday evening in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Boston police said officers responded to Quincy and Warren streets around 4:26 p.m. for ShotSpotter activation that was followed by several 911 calls. Officers discovered a male who had been shot multiple times with life-threatening injuries at the intersection of Warren and Townsend streets. The victim was rushed to Boston Medical Center with injuries that are considered life-threatening. There was no update on his condition Saturday night, and his name has not been released at this time. The gunman fled the scene, and no arrests have been made, police said. Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. The scene was very active later Saturday night, blocked off, with police scouring the area and focusing on a white car with several visible bullet holes through the windshield. NBC10 Boston asked police what led up to this shooting, and if it could be a case of road rage. "We're compiling that information and will try to pull it together to see what the underlying reason for the shooting might be, whether it had anything to do with road rage, or some other altercation, we hope to find that out," Deputy Supt. Paul McLaughlin said. A longtime Roxbury resident told NBC10 Boston that all of this police activity and violence is not typical, and he's always felt safe there. "I just happened to come out and seen all the cops out there, and I was wondering what was going on, you know?" said the man who did not want to show his face on camera. "This is not a usual crime here...it's usually quiet around this neighborhood." McLaughlin said they do not believe there's any concern for the general public. Police are still interviewing a number of witnesses and haven't yet released a description of the suspect. An investigation into the shooting is active and ongoing.

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crime

Family of Mass. woman who died after asthma attack at cannabis factory files lawsuit

The family of a woman killed after an asthma attack at a cannabis production plant in Holyoke last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming her employer failed to properly vent the facility and protect workers from airborne cannabis dust and mold. Lorna McMurrey, 27, died in early 2022 while working for Trulieve Cannabis in Holyoke. Her death represented the first asthma-related workplace fatality in the American cannabis industry, Massachusetts public health officials announced last week. The state Department of Public Health said Trulieve had contributed to McMurrey’s death by not recognizing and controlling ground-up cannabis as a potential respiratory hazard. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Hampden County Superior Court names as defendants the Florida-based Trulieve corporation, a company environmental health and safety manager and contractors who installed the HVAC system at the Holyoke cannabis production facility. The defendants “failed to develop and implement appropriate safety [policies] across its facilities throughout the United States, including its Holyoke Facility,” Jeremy M. Carroll, an attorney for McMurrey’s family, said in a statement. “Had they done so, Lorna McMurrey would be alive today.” Trulieve did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In statements last year, the company defended its facility management and said it had proper air filtration systems in place. “Trulieve will continue to operate its facilities in a manner that fully protects the health and safety of all employees,” the company said last year, according to CommonWealth magazine. “We are confident we did so in January and will continue to do so going forward.” McMurrey died on Jan. 7, seven months after she began work at Trulieve. At the time of her death, McMurrey worked in the Holyoke facility’s pre-roll joint production room, grinding cannabis buds that left her and other staff covered “head to toe” in cannabis dust and mold, the lawsuit said. In November 2021, less than two months before her death, McMurrey suffered an asthma attack while working in the pre-roll production room and was brought by ambulance to a hospital for treatment. “Trulieve was aware of this incident, but took no steps to protect Lorna following her first collapse while inside the Facility,” the lawsuit claimed. McMurrey returned to work a day later. On Jan. 4, 2022, McMurrey had difficulty breathing while working in the cannabis facility and collapsed. An ambulance rushed her to a hospital. She never regained consciousness and died three days later, the lawsuit said. State officials said last week that McMurrey suffered a severe asthma attack, leading to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, a brain injury and ultimately her death. Trulieve last year paid roughly a $14,500 settlement to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration related to McMurrey’s death. The publicly traded company also announced earlier this year that it was shutting down its operations in Massachusetts, blaming poor business. McMurrey was a 2013 graduate of Westfield High School and a longtime resident of West Springfield, attorneys for her family said. “Trulieve needs to be held accountable,” McMurrey’s mother, Laura Bruneau, said in a statement. “It was their job to protect Lorna. Lorna was my life.” Alongside a report detailing the circumstances of McMurrey’s death, the Department of Public Health released a bulletin last week noting that other cases of “non-fatal respiratory disease” have been reported among cannabis production workers in Massachusetts exposed to cannabis dust, mold, pollen and other airborne contaminants. The bulletin urged healthcare providers to be vigilant in identifying work-related asthma among cannabis business employees. “The legalized cannabis industry in Massachusetts is relatively new and the impact on the health and safety of workers demands our careful attention,” Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein said in a statement. About 17% of new-onset adult asthma cases are related to working conditions, but asthma specifically attributed to workplace exposures is underrecognized since data on symptoms and occupation is not routinely collected, state officials said. In Massachusetts, an estimated 200,000 adults have work-related asthma, officials said, citing public health data.

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crime

Michigan Teenager Who Killed Four Students Is Sentenced to Life

Family members attending the sentencing hearing on Friday described the devastating impact of the shooting on their lives. “Nov. 30, 2021, is a day that has forever changed my life. It burns into my body like a cigarette burn,” Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, said. “It’s a feeling that no parent should ever feel.” Speaking to the gunman but not saying his name, Ms. Beausoleil stated, “I don’t wish death upon you, that would be too easy. I hope the thoughts consume you and they replay over and over in your head,” she said. “I hope the screams keep you up at night.” Steve St. Juliana, the father of Hana, told the court on Friday that he cannot forgive the gunman for murdering his daughter and the three other students. “There can be no rehabilitation,” he said, adding that “there is utterly nothing that he could ever do to contribute to society that would make up for the lives that he has so ruthlessly taken.” Former Oxford High School students who were shot on Nov. 30 but survived spoke about their resulting physical limitations and the ways that their anxiety had changed how they think, feel and act every day. Other students similarly talked about constant struggles with nightmares, depression and panic attacks.

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crime

Discovery of fetus remains in South Boston linked to unrelated homicide, court records show

Since the remains of two boys and two girls were found in unit No. 3 at 838 East Broadway on Nov. 17 and 18 last year, investigators have sought to exhume a body, obtain a DNA swab, and evaluate the competency of a potential suspect, according to records filed in Suffolk Superior Court. As part of the investigation, officials unwittingly discovered information related to an unrelated homicide, records show. Court records related to the discovery of the remains of four infants in a freezer in a South Boston condominium a year ago reveal that a death investigation is complex and ongoing, a potential suspect has been identified, and the remains have led to evidence in an “unrelated homicide” that has already gone to trial. Advertisement Authorities so far have not publicly disclosed any information about the identities of the infants or their families, and no arrests have been reported as part of the death investigation. In court documents seeking to impound records related to a search warrant conducted at the red brick, nine-unit building at the corner of N Street, prosecutors wrote they are hopeful the death investigation will be completed by March 14. “The investigation has led to post-trial discovery in an unrelated homicide trial,” Suffolk Assistant District Attorney John C. Verner wrote in a court motion seeking to extend an impoundment order from Nov. 18 to March 18. No other details or mention of the unrelated homicide or potential suspect were included in the documents. A spokesperson for Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said Tuesday evening that he could not comment on the case. The investigation also has included “a lengthy medical analysis into the cause of death” and an evaluation of the competence of “a potential suspect,” Verner wrote. Investigators have also sought two search warrants, one for an exhumation and another for a DNA swab that has been contested, records show. Advertisement It was necessary to impound Boston police Detective David Chaves’s affidavit in support of a search warrant because the document contained “sensitive and detailed information” and could jeopardize the ongoing investigation, Verner wrote. Judge John Wall on Nov. 14 ordered the documents remain impounded until further order of the court. Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.