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Superior Court Briefs: July 27 - July 30

Staff Reports
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, July 27.
 
Gabrielle Garzone, 21, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on her behalf on single counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws, to wit: trafficking in heroin, and conspiracy to violate drug laws, to wit: trafficking in cocaine.
 
She was released on $2,500 bail. Garzone is accused of conspiring with others to sell cocaine and heroin in Berkshire County between January 20, 2015 and March 6, 2015.
 
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, July 29.
 
Joseph Lamb, 29, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to a single count of armed robbery.
 
Lamb robbed Harte's Package Store in Pittsfield on September 14, 2014. He was ordered to serve three to six years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction.
 
Zachary Santoro, 28, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on four counts of rape and abuse of a child, and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained age 14.
 
He was released on $5,000 bail. The incidents allegedly occurred in Lanesborough between June 1, 2014 and August 7, 2014. The alleged victim is a 16-year-old girl.
 
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, July 30.
 
Joshua Capitanio, 33, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of possession of infernal machine, reckless endangerment of a child, and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card.
 
He was released on personal recognizance. The charges are in connection with an incident in Pittsfield on March 3, 2015.
 
Erich Rawlins, 31, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of armed robbery, larceny of a controlled substance, larceny over $250, larceny over $250 an ongoing and continuing offense, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
 
Rawlins committed armed robbery at the Elm Street Getter in Pittsfield on January 25, 2011. He also admitted to taking money on March 24, 2014, drugs on April 11, 2014, and using a stolen credit card between April 14, 2014 and May 2, 2014. Those incidents were in Pittsfield.
 
He was ordered to serve four to seven years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the armed robbery charge. He was given concurrent time of the other charges.
     

North Adams Man Falls From Ledge in Savoy Forest

Staff Reports

SAVOY, Mass. — Numerous emergency responders came to the rescue of a 26-year-old North Adams man who fell off a ledge on Sunday in the Savoy State Forest.

The Savoy Volunteer Fire Department reports that it was called to Tannery Falls at about 6 p.m. on Sunday with Adams Ambulance Service for a report of a man who was unconscious after falling 40 feet near the falls.

Mutual aid was requested from Cheshire, Windsor and Plainfield volunteer fire departments and the Berkshire County High Angle Rescue Team for extrication. LifeNet or LifeFlight were also requested but unable to respond because of weather issues

Firefighters and emergency medical technicians walked a quarter mile to the falls and stabilized the patient. Firefighters, EMTs, and members of the Department of Conservation and Recreation extricated the patient via Stokes basket and ropes. The patient was transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

     

Drury High Graduate Killed in Phoenix

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Drury High graduate was shot to death in her Phoenix, Ariz., home on Friday.

According Arizona media reports, the body of Shayley Estes, 22, was discovered by her roommate. Police have arrested her former boyfriend, Russian national Igor Zubko at Sky Harbor International Airport on Friday evening.

Estes had reportedly been dating Zubko and had allowed him to move into home for a time. Her mother, Shannon Estes, told news channel KPHO (CBS5AZ), that in living together, her daughter had seen "another side" of Zubko and broke up with him and took out a restraining order. He allegedly sent her threatening texts.

According to reports, a handgun and shell casings were found at the scene. Zubko apparently still had a key to her apartment and was waiting for her when she came home; she was shot when she tried to flee, according to police. KPHO reported that he told police he had purchased the gun off the Internet.

Zubko had a one-way ticket to San Francisco when he was apprehended, according to police. He was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, as well as burglary, kidnapping and several other related charges.

Estes was an honors student at Drury, graduating in 2011. She had recently graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in chemistry.

A gofundme account has been set up to help Estes' mother defray the cost of bringing her daughter back to the Berkshires for burial.

     

Four North Adams Residents Arrested in Two-State Drug Raid

Staff Reports

Update: On Tuesday, July 28, the Bennington Banner reported that Brooklynne Schneider had provided the Vermont Drug Task Force with information that resulted in the arrest of Kacey E. Caprari, 35, of North Adams on drug dealing charges.

Caprari was identified as a case worker with the Vermont Department of Children and Families. She allegedly was using her position to sell heroin out of the State Office Complex in Bennington.

Caprari was arraigned Tuesday in Vermont District Court in Bennington on felony charges of conspiracy to sell drugs and distribution of heroin. She was released on $5,000 bail, according to the Banner.


NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police arrested four people on drug charges on Friday and recovered thousands of bags heroin and cocaine and cash.

The arrests were the result of multiple warrants simultaneously executed in North Adams, Holyoke and Stephentown, N.Y., on Friday "after a lengthy investigation into the distribution of narcotics."

Arrested in North Adams were Brooklynne R. Schneider, 21; Rosemaria H. Thorton, 67; Tre A. Amos, 22; and Johnathan J. Loring, 21.

Schneider, Thorton and Loring are each facing counts of possession to distribute a Class A drug (heroin) and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act.

Amos is charged with the same violations and also faces charges of possession of Class B drug (cocaine).

Seized were more than 7,500 bags of heroin, 36 grams of cocaine and more than $5,000 in cash.

North Adams Police Department made the local arrests with the assistance and cooperation of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force, Holyoke Police Department, Rensselaer County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Office and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Schneider was arrested in February 2014 in relation to an investigation into a drug ring from Holyoke. Schnieder was a passenger in the car of Joshua S. Bressette, murdered a month later in the Bronx, that was stopped by police on Mohawk Forest Blvd. Police say she had dozens of bags of heroin and cocaine on her person; she was later arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on drug charges.

Bressette was also charged and three others in a second car were also arrested on drug charges: Jordan Moon, 26, and Kassidy LeMire, 19, both of North Adams, and Kamil Kujawa, 23, a Polish national living in North Adams.

Kujawa, Moon and LeMire all pleaded guilty; Kujawa is serving a two to three-year sentence, Moon and LeMire were given probation.

     

Authorities Investigating Fatal Fire In Hinsdale

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
HINSDALE, Mass. — A person died in an afternoon structure fire on Shore Drive on Thursday morning, shortly before 11.
 
Fire Chief Larry Turner said the district attorney's office is investigating the circumstances around the death. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze but one was taken to the hospital for treatment.
 
"We responded to 16 Shore Drive in Hinsdale and there was a fatality involved," Turner said on Friday. "We were able to put the fire out fairly quickly."
 
Turner said when he arrived, he saw smoke coming from the home's eaves, which automatically triggered a second alarm. Firefighters from Peru, Becket and Middlefield responded with tank trucks because the home was outside of the hydrant district. Dalton send an engine company to the scene. And Becket sent an engine to standby in Hinsdale's station.
 
"We did send one firefighter to the hospital with very high blood pressure. He was checked out and released," Turner said. 
 
Shore Drive is residential area off George Schnopp Road that runs along Lake Ashmere.
 
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said. The district attorney's office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. Turner was unable to comment any further on the fatality.
 
The district attorney's office could not be reached on Friday.
     
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