3 Found Guilty in Asiyanna Jones Murder

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three people have been convicted on charges related to the 2017 murder of Asiyanna Jones.
 
After a week and a half trial in Berkshire Superior Court, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Gary Linen, Carey Pilot, and Elizabeth Perez for the Oct. 2, 2017, shooting on Dewey Avenue. 
 
The jury found Linen guilty of murder, Pilot of manslaughter, and Perez for misleading police in the homicide investigation. Judge John Agostini scheduled sentencing for Wednesday.
 
"I send my condolences to Ms. Jones' family and friends for their tragic loss and hope these convictions give them some satisfaction. I thank the jurors for their careful deliberation of the facts," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said. "I also thank Special Prosecutor [Brett] Vottero, the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Yorlano, who assisted, and First Assistant Karen Bell, who oversaw their work on the case. 
 
"Attorney Vottero has handled more than 75 other homicides during his two decades of service to the commonwealth, and his
expertise was key to securing these convictions."
 
Pilot, 50, and Linen, 42, engaged in a gunfight on Dewey Avenue on Oct. 2, 2017, and a bullet struck Jones, 22, who was inside a car. Jones died at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield the following day. 
 
Perez, 30, lied to police during the investigation.
 
The Pittsfield Police Department, with assistance from the state police detective unit assigned to the District Attorney's Office, Berkshire County Sheriff's Department, the Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force, State Police Crime Scene Services, and State Police Firearms Identification Section conducted the investigation.

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BCC Trustees Vote to Hire Hara Charlier as Next President

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Catheryn Chacon Ortega, the alumni appointment, liked how Hara Charlier easily connected with students faculty; Melissa Myers, alumni representative, also noted how comfortable Charlier was with various groups. Charlier, right, was called after the vote and accepted pending negotiations and state approval. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It wasn't hard for BCC's Board of Trustees to elect a new president from Minnesota on Monday.

One by one, during a special meeting at Berkshire Community College, board members expressed their conviction that Hara Charlier was the best candidate to lead after Ellen Kennedy retires. They unanimously recommended Charlier as the next president of BCC to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

"We're not trying to hire a replacement for Dr. Kennedy; We are trying to hire our next leader," Chair Julia Bowen said.

Charlier, currently the president of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minn., was one of four finalists identified by the Presidential Search Committee who visited the campus. She was not on site, but was called after the vote.

Catheryn Chacon Ortega was impressed by how Charlier connected with students and faculty, as well as her passion and breadth of experience.  

"As the appointed alumni, I put myself in the students' shoes when I was thinking about this, and I think I feel very represented by her, like if I come back as a student here, I think she will be a person that will be open doors to me, to my community, to the immigrant community, to everybody," she said.

Danielle Gonzalez feels Charlier has a "very" clear commitment to the community part of community college, and a deep experience of serving underserved populations, "really just with great enthusiasm."

"I think that in addition to having really deep community college leadership experience, she was able to articulate a very thorough understanding of the issues of the college of Berkshire County, of what those opportunities might look like, and how she would connect what her experience has been with how she could drive the school forward," said Julie Hughes, a newer member of the board.
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