Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

 

Anthony Deordio, 43, of North Adams had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of rape and abuse of a child.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $10,000 bail. The incident allegedly occurred in North Adams on Nov. 1, 2017, and involved an 8-year-old girl.

 

Richard Dixon, 34, of Pittsfield had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of possession of child pornography, and dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $5,000 bail. He is accused of being in possession of child pornography in Pittsfield between Aug. 23, 2018, and Sept. 14, 2018. He is also accused of distributing pornography on August 26, 2018.

 

Davon Kelly, 39, of Pittsfield had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and armed career felon in connection with an incident in Pittsfield on Aug. 19, 2018, and involved a 27-year-old man.

 

He also had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a loaded handgun, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of heroin, and armed career felon.

 

Those charges stem from an incident in Pittsfield on Aug. 30, 2018. 

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without bail.

 

Kurt Vosburgh, 54, of Stamford, Vt., had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of distribution of heroin and possession of heroin, second offense.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $1,000 bail. The charges stem from an incident in North Adams on Oct. 5, 2018. 

 

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, Nov. 7.

 

Shane Smith, 34, of Pittsfield, had a not-guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of providing misleading information to a police officer.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $3,000 bail. Smith is accused of misleading officers during the investigation into the death of 34-year-old William Catalano.

 

Peter Campbell, 22, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to two counts of armed assault with intent to rob and a single count of manslaughter.

 

He was ordered to serve 4 1/2 to six years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction. Campbell was part of a joint venture to rob 29-year-old Anthony Gamache and during the robbery, Gamache was shot by Campbell's accomplice and later died.

 

Campbell also pleaded guilty to a single count of intimidation of a witness. He was ordered to serve two to 2 1/2 years in state prison on that charge. Campbell admitted to intimidating a witness in a criminal matter between Oct. 16, 2015, and Nov. 2, 2015.

 

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

 

Marchenne Hanson, 40, of Pittsfield had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of armed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery by discharging a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

 

He was released on $1,000 bail. The charges stem from an incident on Elm Street in Pittsfield on June 8, 2018.

 

Joseph Pini, 41, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

 

He was ordered to serve two years at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charge relates to a search warrant at his home on August 9, 2017.

 

Jason Sefton, 20, of Pittsfield entered a not-guilty plea on a single count of murder.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without bail. Sefton is accused of stabbing and beating 34-year-old William Catalano in Pittsfield on Oct. 15, 2018.

 

Anthony Boone, 22, of Pittsfield entered a not-guilty plea on a single count of murder.

 

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without bail. Sefton is accused of stabbing and beating 34-year-old William Catalano in Pittsfield on Oct. 15, 2018.

 

 

Joseph Stone, 40, of Pittsfield was found not guilty of a single count of assault with intent to commit rape. 

 

The jury found him not guilty after two hours of deliberation regarding an incident allegedly involving a woman who is now 43 in Pittsfield on Oct. 23, 2016.

 

Alexis Gkoles, 36, of Great Barrington had a not-guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of rape.

 

He was released on personal recognizance. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 36-year-old woman in Great Barrington on Dec. 3, 2017.

 

Frederick Murnane, 29, of Sheffield had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf on two counts of cruelty to animals and a single count of burning a dwelling house.

 

He was released on personal recognizance. Murnane is accused of setting fire to a home he owned in Becket on Aug. 28, 2018, and two cats inside died as a result.

BECKET, Mass. — A North Adams man was killed Thursday afternoon while working on the Massachusetts Turnpike near mile-marker 17.2.

 

Authorities say Brian M. Simard, 26, was killed in a "work site accident" at 1:45 p.m. Simard, a construction worker, was pronounced dead at the scene. His obituary can be found here.

 

 

The westbound lane of the MassPike was blocked for nearly three hours. State police from the Westfield barracks are leading the investigation.

 

The bridge over Route 20 at that mile marker has been undergoing repairs this fall although it was not on the list for lane restrictions on Thursday.

 

The state police Collision Reconstruction, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Crime Scene and Berkshire detective units also responded to the scene and Occupational Safety and Health Administration was advised of the incident, according to authorities.

 

Complete write-thru at 1 p.m., Nov. 16; victim's identity added. Original post at 9:54 a.m., Nov. 16.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four people are displaced after a fire tore through the rear of their South Church Street home.

 

Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said firefighters responded at 12:24 Saturday afternoon to the call at 7 South Church St. One of the occupants, who was the only one home at the time, of the two-family home heard the smoke alarm and then found a fire on the rear porch. He escaped the building through the front stairway. 

 

"On arrival, there was heavy fire on the second floor rear. Guys made an interior attack, knocked down a lot of the fire on the inside of the second floor," Czerwinski said.

 

The cause of the fire had not yet been determined at the scene but later fire investigators found cause to be the careless disposal of smoking materials. The fire had started on the porch and it spread into the apartment and into the attic. The fire did not fall to the first floor.

 

"We think the wind may have had a play in the spread of the fire. Because of a strong wind coming out of the west, it kind of blew it into that apartment. The other problem we had is that it is an old house, probably over 100 years old, and it has a slate roof on it. The slate roof helped keep a lot of the heat and flame in there," Czerwinski said.

 

Firefighters had to knock the slate roof off in order to ventilate the building. The fire was snuffed out fairly quickly and firefighters were packing up to leave shortly before 2 p.m. Nobody was injured in the blaze.

 

The response consisted of three engines, a ladder truck, and Car-2.

 

The fire left the building uninhabitable for now and the damage was estimated at $10,000 to $20,000. Czerwinski said all of the occupants have somewhere else to go for the evening.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are investigating another shooting.

 

Police say Friday morning officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation in the 300 block of Columbus Avenue. There they found an individual who suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

 

The victim was transported to Berkshire Medical Center and the injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Police say the victim was unable to provide any information about the suspect.

 

The incident is under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the department at 413-448-9705. Information can also be provided anonymously via the Detective Bureau, the Drug Tips hotline at 413-448-9708, or by texting “PITTIP” plus your message to TIP411 (847411).

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A teenager is facing charges after driving in the wrong lane and causing a rollover accident on West Main Street on Wednesday afternoon. 

 

The occupant of the other vehicle had to be extricated by firefighters and was taken to Berkshire Medical Center's North Adams campus with injuries.

 

The 17-year-old, whose name has not yet been released, was westbound just before 3 p.m. in a black Honda Civic near Brown Street when he swerved into the eastbound lane. He tried to pull back out, as seen by the tire tracks on the road, but collided with an eastbound Chevrolet Equinox with two occupants. 

 

The Civic's front driver side fender is believed to have struck the back driver's side of the Equinox, ripping off the back tire. The Equinox hit the curb and flipped over, landing on its roof and facing the north side of Hill Side Cemetery. The Civic came to a stop in the westbound lane about 50 feet away. 

 

Firefighters had to use extrication tools to remove the passenger side door to get to one of the occupants in the Equinox. Both the driver and passenger were taken to BMC North by Northern Berkshire Ambulance Service. The driver of the Civic declined transport but was taken to the satellite emergency facility by his father. 

 

Cariddi Auto towed the Civic and Dean's Towing righted and removed the Equinox. The roadway was closed for about a half-hour and traffic was detoured over Brown Street and Roberts Drive.