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Early Morning Fire Burns Down V's Doghouse
The Lanesborough Fire Department took this photo of the early morning fire. |
Update 11:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2014:
The Sept. 28 fire at V's Dog House Restaurant was electrical, according state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and Lanesborough Fire Chief Charles A. Durfee.
The fire started inside a wall between the kitchen and bar around 4 a.m. The restaurant was closed at the time and there were no injuries. The estimated damage is $700,000. The building did not have fire sprinklers.
The fire was investigated by the Lanesborough Fire Department and state police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Assistance was received from an electrical expert and State Police Crime Scene Services.
Update at 4:35 p.m.: The state fire marshal has ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze that destroyed V's Dog House early Sunday morning.
Fire Chief Charlie Durfee said there are two locations in the building that fire investigators are focusing on to determine the cause. He expected them to have an answer by noon Monday.
The damage is estimated at $700,000, he said. The building (business was previously known as Zen's Dog House) was purchased by Edward L. Vella Jr. in 2009, according to documents in the Registry of Deeds.
Durfee also said the hydrants, owned by the Berkshire Mall, are maintained and functioning but firefighters ran into difficulties getting them open. There are no hydrants on the Route 8 side.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — V's Doghouse on Route 8 burned to the ground early Sunday morning.
Third Man Found Guilty in Pittsfield Triple Murder
Caius Veiovis from his mugshot in 2011. |
UPDATED Sept. 29, 2014, at 3:00 p.m.
Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder on Monday afternoon ordered that Caius Vieovus serve consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the charges of murder in the first degree against David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell.
He was given concurrent eight- to 10-year sentences on the other charges.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The third man accused in a triple killing in 2011 was found guilty of first-degree murder on Friday afternoon.
Caius Veiovis, also known as Roy Gutfinski, 34, was found guilty by a jury in Hampden Superior Court.
The jury deliberated for about 36 1/2 hours over a six-day period before returning its verdict of guilty on three three counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of kidnapping and three counts of intimidation of a witness or other person.
Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder ordered that Veiovis be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail pending sentencing that will occur Monday at 2 p.m. in the Hampden court.
The jury found that Veiovis kidnapped and then killed 44-year-old David Glasser, 58-year-old Edward Frampton and 47-year-old Robert Chadwell. The three Pittsfield men were last seen at a Pittsfield apartment shared by Glasser and Frampton on Aug. 28, 2011. Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket that September.
Glasser was set to testify against Adam Lee Hall, 34, in a drug case.
Hall, of Peru, the primary defendant, was found guilty and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the chance at parole. David Chalue, 47, of North Adams, was also found guilty of murder, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness in the highly publicized murders.
David Casey, 62, of Canaan, N.Y., is facing multiple charges of accessory after the fact for allegedly providing the equipment to bury the three bodies. He testified against Veiovis, Hall and Chalue at their trials.
All three were tried in Hampden County after defense attorneys convinced Kinder that the extensive coverage of the slayings in Berkshire County would prevent a fair trial.
The investigation was conducted by the Berkshire Detective Unit assigned to the District attorney's office and the Pittsfield Police Department. They were assisted by the FBI, the Berkshire County sheriff's office and members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force.
Superior Court Briefs: Sept. 22 - Sept. 24
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Possible Abduction Attempt in South Berkshire
NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Parents in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District are being advised to be alert after a possible abduction attempt Thursday afternoon.
Authorities say the incident happened about 3:30 on Norfolk Road in New Marlborough as an 11-year-old boy walked home from school.
The boy told investigators he was approached by a man in a gray, four-door car with blue and white New York license plates.
The driver was described as a white man, approximately 30 to 40 years old with a thin build and medium-length black hair that looked a little shaggy.
Anyone who might have seen a vehicle matching this description is asked to call the state police barracks in Lee at 413-243-0600.
In a letter to parents, Mount Everett Regional School Principal Glenn Devoti said the suspicious man "may have attempted to abduct a 6th grade elementary student."
The police and bus company were notified, wrote Devoti.
The New Marlborough Police Department, state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's Office and state troopers from the Lee barracks are investigating.
"Please be cautious about leaving students unsupervised at bus stops and notify police or school personnel if you observe anyone matching this description or observe any other suspicious behavior," he asked.
Lanesborough Police were also looking for a New York vehicle earlier this week, that one a red sedan, possibly a late 1990s model similar to a Pontiac Grand Am, and operated by an older white man with facial hair.
In that case, police said the car had been seen around school bus stops in Lanesborough and they wished to speak with the operator.