Life Sentence Imposed in Asiyanna Jones Murder

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gary Linen, 42, has been sentenced to life in state prison in the murder of Asiyanna Jones.
 
Lengthy state prison sentences were handed down by Judge John Agostini on Wednesday for those responsible for the death of of the 22-year-old Jones.
 
In addition to Linen, Carey Pilot was sentenced to serve 15 to 20 years in state prison for manslaughter, and Elizabeth Perez to serve two to four years in state prison for misleading a police officer in the homicide investigation.
 
The commonwealth had requested sentences of the statutorily required life in prison for Linen, 18 to 20 years in prison for Pilot, and a significant state prison sentence for misleading a police officer during a homicide investigation for Perez. Defense attorneys requested life for Linen, four to six years for Pilot, and a two-and-a-half-year split sentence at the House of Correction for Perez.
 
Last week, a jury returned the guilty verdicts in the Oct. 2, 2017, shooting death. Pilot, 50, and Linen, 42, engaged in a gunfight on Dewey Avenue in Pittsfield on that evening and a bullet struck Jones, who was inside a car. Perez, 30, lied to police during the investigation.
 
"I thank Asiyanna Jones' family for their powerful victim witness statements they delivered in court today and I am proud of the trial team for their meticulous work in obtaining these convictions," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.
 
The Pittsfield Police Department with assistance from the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, Berkshire County Sheriff's Department, the Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force, Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services and Massachusetts State Police Firearms Identification Section conducted the investigation.

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Pittsfield School Committee to Again Vote on PHS Report Release

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will again discuss releasing a redacted version of the PHS report after confusion over a March vote. 

On Wednesday, member Ciara Batory, who has been vocal about releasing last year’s investigation into allegations of staff misconduct at Pittsfield High School, demanded a date for its release to the public.  It was indicated that the item can be put on the next meeting's agenda. 

"I am done playing the game. The public wants a date of when the redacted PHS report will be released, and I will not stop until I get a date," she said before a five-minute recess was called on the meeting. 

Last school year, five past and present PHS staff members were investigated for alleged misconduct, and allegations were found to be "unsupported," according to executive summaries released by the last term's committee. 

The School Committee agenda for its March 25 meeting included a "request by Ciara Batory to release the May 2025 Pittsfield High report with required redactions." It was reported that there were threats of legal action if the redacted report were released. 

Batory on Wednesday said she did not request that agenda item, and that the motion had already passed. Mayor Peter Marchetti, also chair, said they voted in January to review the redacted version, not to release it. 

Batory played the motion that passed in January from her phone: 

"I move the committee vote to release a PHS investigation report in a redacted form by February 18, 2026, and I'd like to add to that the School Committee reviews it before its release to the public, to make sure that there is enough to present to the public."

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