Pascual-Polanco Brothers Sentenced to Life for 2019 Homicide

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.

"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.

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."

Dalton Swap Shed Seeks Volunteers; Wahconah Umbrella Club Designs Shed

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
12:42PM / Friday, June 26, 2026

The swap shed has usable goods looking for a second life. 

DALTON, Mass. —The town is seeking volunteers to operate "Dal-mart," the transfer station's swap shed. 

 

The initiative provides individuals the opportunity to leave items they no longer need and/or take some items they need for free which prevents usable items from being tossed in landfills, reducing waste and supporting sustainability.

 

The shop is currently open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with hopes to expand operating hours as community awareness grows and additional volunteers become available to help staff the space.

 

"It's a way of reusing other people's stuff that's still in good condition," Green Committee member Kathy Perney said, highlighting a few items often found in the shop including toys, books, and dinnerware. 

 

The town opened the shop last June and to spread awareness invited Wahconah Regional High School students in the Umbrella Club to paint it.

 

When presented with this experience, 19 students stepped up to help design the illustration, although only eight were able to go on the field trip to paint. 

 

The students researched indigenous flowers and fauna to incorporate in its design, featuring the area's four seasons. Prominently displayed on the front are images that bring to light fall and spring and a native blue butterfly.