Superior Court: Man Arraigned in North Adams Murder

David Delratez at his rendition hearing in Bennington, Vt. He was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield on Wednesday for the murder of Ellen Depaoli.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The man accused of murdering 84-year-old Ellen Depaoli in North Adams is being held without bail after his case was moved to Berkshire Superior Court.

David Delratez entered not-guilty pleas on single counts of murder and larceny of a motor vehicle on Wednesday.

Delratez is accused of murdering Depaoli at her home on Walker Street in North Adams on September 17, 2013 and fleeing in her car.

He was taken into custody a few days later in Bennington for violating his probation from a previous charge.

Authorities then charged him with murder and larceny of a motor vehicle and he entered not guilty pleas to those charges at an arraignment in Northern Berkshire District Court on Sept. 23.

The case is now moved to Berkshire Superior Court after a grand jury indicted him on Monday; he was arraigned again on Wednesday.

He again pleaded not guilty to the previous charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor and malicious destruction of property in connection with an incident in Clarksburg on Sept. 13, 2013 — the charges he was originally taken into custody on because it violated his probation.

Also from that Sept. 13 incident, he was charged and pleaded not guilty to a single count of use of a motor vehicle without authority.

According to police documents presented at the first arraignment, Delratez was found after police tracked down Depaoli's car in Bennington. They found a knife in the car, which police say was used in the murder.

Delratez then allegedly told police that two other men committed the crime and forced him to take the car and drive them out of town. He then says he was scared and went to stay with a friend in Bennington, according to police documents.

Police Investigating Shooting in Clarksburg

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Police are investigating an alleged shooting Friday night that sent one person to the hospital.

Law enforcement officials are tight-lipped about the incident although it reportedly occured during an altercation in the town.

Police Chief Michael Williams referred all inquiries to the district attorney's office; Fred Lantz, spokesman for the DA's office, said the incident is currently under investigation.

Lantz did say the incident led one person to be transported and later released from the hospital. No arrests have been made yet, and the investigation is ongoing.

The investigation has included Clarksburg, North Adams and state police.

North Adams Police Director Michael Cozzaglio on Monday said a fight between two women at the Artery Lounge early Saturday morning involved city police in the incident.

"In the course of their investigation, it was brought to the officers' attention that there was a person inside the bar who had a gunshot wound," said Cozzaglio. The officers contacted North Adams Ambulance, which transported the individual to the hospital. "We assisted Clarksburg until the state police detective unit arrived on scene."

According to the North Adams police log, officers were called to the Artery on Union Street at about 1 a.m. for a report of a fight in progress between two women, neither of whom had any relation to the earlier incident in Clarksburg. At 5:36 a.m., the log reports that a North Adams officer also found two .22-caliber casings on Cross Road.
 

Tour Bus Plows Into Snowpile at Hairpin Turn

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — A tour bus ran into brake trouble coming down the Mohawk Trail on shortly before noon on Saturday and plowed into a pile of snow when it couldn't manage the Hairpin Turn. The snow stopped the bus before it could hit the wall in front of the Golden Eagle Restaurant right at the sharp turn. No was reported seriously injured in the accident.

Clarksburg Rollover Injures One