Individuals Indicted In North Adams Shooting and Clarksburg Homicide

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A grand jury returned indictments related to a shooting in North Adams on Feb. 19, which injured two people, and a murder in Clarksburg on Feb. 23.
 
Paul Starbird and Keith Larrabee, both of North Adams, were indicted in the shooting. Starbird, 20, and Larrabee, 27, are currently being held without the right to bail on District Court charges. The court arraigned Larrabee on Thursday and will arraign Starbird on June 29.
 
Starbird is facing two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and single counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of a loaded firearm. Larrabee is facing two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and single counts of assault and battery, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a loaded firearm, and assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
 
North Adams Police responded to Key West Lounge on State Street at approximately 1:24 that morning for a reported shooting. Police assisted two victims suffering from gunshot wounds and Northern Berkshire EMS transported the victims to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. Starbird and Larrabee were arrested in the following days with aid of state and local law enforcement.
 
William Gingerich was also indicted on charges related to the murder of Dennis Bernardi. The 27-year-old Gingerich faces charges of murder, kidnapping, assault and battery, and larceny of a motor vehicle.
 
Gingerich is also currently detained without the right to bail. Superior Court is expected to arraign Gingerich on June 30.
 
Clarksburg and North Adams Police responded to a Clarksburg address on Feb. 23 for a well-being check and discovered Bernardi, 71, deceased. 
 
Authorities in Lewiston, N.Y., arrested Gingerich the following evening on an arrest warrant obtained by the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit. 

 


Tags: district attorney,   homicide,   shooting,   

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Veteran Spotlight: Army Sgt. John Magnarelli

By Wayne SoaresSpecial to iBerkshires
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — John Magnarelli served his country in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam from May 4, 1969, to April 10, 1970, as a sergeant. 
 
He grew up in North Quincy and was drafted into the Army on Aug. 12, 1968. 
 
"I had been working in a factory, Mathewson Machine Works, as a drill press operator since I graduated high school. It was a solid job and I had fallen into a comfortable routine," he said. "That morning, I left home with my dad, who drove me to the South Boston Army Base, where all new recruits were processed into service. There was no big send off — he just dropped me off on his way to work. He shook my hand and said, 'good luck and stay safe.'"
 
He would do his basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., which was built in 1917 and named after President Andrew Jackson. 
 
"It was like a city — 20,000 people, 2,500 buildings and 50 firing ranges on 82 square miles," he said. "I learned one thing very quickly, that you never refer to your rifle as a gun. That would earn you the ire of the drill sergeant and typically involve a great deal of running." 
 
He continued proudly, "after never having fired a gun in my life, I received my marksmanship badge at the expert level."
 
He was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., for Combat Leadership School then sent to Vietnam.
 
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