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Family members of the Pascual-Polanco brothers gather outside of Berkshire Superior on Thursday to speak to media after the two men were sentenced to life in prison.

Pascual-Polanco Brothers Sentenced to Life for 2019 Homicide

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Chiry Omar Pascual-Polanco and Carlos Pascual-Polanco on Thursday were given life sentences without possibility for parole for the murder of 18-year-old Jaden Salois in 2019.

The brothers lured Salois, of Dalton, outside a Pittsfield home for a false drug deal and shot him in the back in the early morning hours on Jan. 20, 2019. Prosecutors say the killing was over allegations of stolen marijuana. 
 
During the sentencing at Berkshire Superior Court, several of Salios' family members gave impact statements that detailed his kind disposition and hopes for the future. They said it was unfair for him to be robbed of it.

"A piece of me is gone that will never be replaced," his mother Megan Bernardini wrote.

"Over the past 3 1/2 years, me and my family have experienced endless sleepless nights and have had never-ending thoughts of why this happened to Jaden and why this happened to us," his cousin Brianna Crucitti said. "We still don't know why it happened to him or why it happened to us."

Family members of Chiry Omar, 26, and Carlos, 22, called the verdict is an injustice, arguing that there was not sufficient provable evidence and that the brothers are innocent.  

They did not speak at the sentencing but offered statements to iBerkshires afterward.

Sister Marisela Pascual knew that she and her brothers had "no fighting chance" for their lives in this community and said it is clear that they didn’t commit the crime.

"That didn't matter to the jury who made the deliberations in under six hours," Pascual added. "Obvious to say, they had their minds made up."

Their mother Maribel Polanco said the verdict is a "big injustice" and racism against her children, arguing that it was decided on because they have a Hispanic last name.

Cousin Elina Estrella said the case showed a lot of circumstantial evidence that was not concrete and pointed to a lack of diversity on the jury. She believes that if Salois was a person of color and her cousins were white, it "would have been a different story."

Last month, the brothers were found guilty of murder in the first degree by a Berkshire Superior Court jury following a two-week trial that saw the prosecution call 30 witnesses. They were also found guilty on two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, two counts of possession of ammunition without an FID, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.



The two were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction in South Walpole.

The other counts carry a sentence of two years in the Berkshire County House of Corrections and one carries a sentence of five years in the state correctional facility.

A third co-defendant, Dasean Smith, 24, of Pittsfield, is also charged with murder and will be tried separately.

"I send my condolences to Jaden's loved ones, and I admire their courage in delivering their powerful victim impact statements to the court. Jaden is gone but lives on in the hearts of those who loved him, and I hope this measure of accountability supports his family," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.
 
"I thank the Pittsfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police for their investigation into this senseless homicide, and I am proud of the trial team for their presentation of the facts to the jury."

Salois' grandmother said he had gotten in with the wrong crowd and that his family always hoped that he would realize that this life wasn't going to work out for him. She said they spent a lot of time talking on the phone about how to improve his circumstances prior to his death.

"He had hopes and dreams like we all do. A future life with marriage and children. He knew we wanted to be a dad," Salois' other grandmother said.

"He knew he wanted to have God in his life and I would take him to every church in the city until he found one that he felt comfortable with. He never had a chance to do that because time ran out for him."


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Companion Corner: Moose at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a chill Labrador retriever mix at the Berkshire Humane Society that's looking a home where he can take long walks and can cuddle afterward.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. 

Moose is a 5-year-old Lab mix and has been at the shelter for about three weeks. Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Fox.  

"He just wants to soak up all the attention, all the pets, all of the love that you have to give. He is just a big mush. Very social, buddy," she said.

He had to come to the shelter after his home situation had to change.

"The young woman who brought him in had him since he was a puppy, and unfortunately, her housing changed, so she was not able to keep him with her anymore," Olivieri said.

Moose is a happy boy who likes moderate exercise. While he does not play with toys aggressively, he loves to nibble on them, but prefers to just hang out with his person.

"He loves to go on walks. He likes to hang out with other dogs. He's pretty chill. He's social. He's not super playful, but he does like the company of other dogs, who are also calm like he is," she said. "But mainly, his favorite thing is just being with people. He wants someone to cuddle with at night, cuddle with on the couch. He's just going to be right by your side, glued to you all the time."

Moose can go home with children ages 10 and older and to one with another chill dog. It is preferred he is in a home and not an apartment as he can be a bit vocal when he is alone.

"He could live with another dog, but no small animals, no cats. And a home where someone is home with him a bit would be really good for him, so that he could spend a lot of time with people," Olivieri said. 

Moose is on a special diet for his skin as he has some itchiness caused by allergies.

"He does have what appears to be some kind of skin allergy. He is on medication for that right now as well, and we've been giving him medicated baths. And his hair and coat are growing in nicely, but he did have some patches where there's some hair loss and some definitely some itchiness and irritation in his ears," she said. "But we've given him some ear treatments, and he is on medication right now to help clear that up, and it is looking pretty good."

While Moose can be shy at first but warms up pretty fast once he meets you.

"At first, it does take him not too long, but just a little bit to get used to new people. If he is a little bit uncomfortable with someone, he will bark a little bit, but really, it's just him being a little bit uncertain, and that's kind of how he lets his feelings out. But if you take your time with him and take your time getting to know him, it does not take him long at all to warm right up," she said.

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