Home About Archives RSS Feed

Winter Blanket Burns Pittsfield Apartment

Andy McKeever

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An old electrical blanket ignited early Tuesday morning and gutted an apartment at 100 Springside Ave. 
 
According to Deputy Fire Chief Keith Phillips, Linda Vandyke woke up when her blanket suddenly caught on fire. She took it outside but returned to find the underside of her bed still burning.
 
Firefighters were called at about 6:30 a.m., Phillips said.
 
Van Dyke escaped without injuries but one firefighter cut his hand, Phillips said.
 
The Fire Department closed off a section of Springside Ave. until about 10:30 a.m. Firefighters had trouble fighting the blaze because a nearby hydrant was buried in snow. Phillips said that residents can be a big help to the department by shoveling the hydrants out. 
 
Phillips said the blanket was 8-years-old and the wires were damaged because of usage and washing. 
 
The apartment is one of six in the building but none of the others were damaged, he said. The owner is already boarding the apartment up.
 
According to state land records, the building is owned by Matthew Pantofel.
 
Vandyke and her husband Edward Vandyke are reportedly staying with relatives and the tenants of the above apartment were removed because of a strong odor of smoke, Phillips said. Edward Vandyke was not home when it began.
 

 

Tags: Fire, Apartment      

Kincaid Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Rape

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's taken almost exactly a dozen years, two trials and numerous twists and turns through the court system to conclude the prosecution of Aaron Kincaid of Lenox.

Kincaid, 36, pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday morning to four counts of aggravated rape from an assault on a then 27-year-old woman on Sept. 24, 1998.

He was ordered by Judge John Agostini to serve concurrent 719-day sentences, or time already served, on the four charges at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction on the recommendation of the district attorney and his attorney. He was also placed on two years' probation on the condition he have no contact with the victim and a witness during the probationary period.

"We do not always achieve all that we aspire to in every case," said District Attorney David F. Capeless in a statement. "Today's sentence is not what was handed down back in 2001, but we have realized something else, something even more significant in this singular case – a vindication of the victim and the other witnesses after all these years, an affirmation under oath that they had, indeed, told the truth."

Kincaid was guilty of the same four charges in Superior Court in September 2001 and was ordered by Judge Thomas Curley to serve concurrent 15- to 18-year sentences in Walpole.

In May 2002, Kincaid filed a motion for a new trial and a post-verdict inquiry of the jurors. He alleged that the jury learned that a co-defendant, Richard C. Lampron Jr., had fled the state. Curley, who died in 2005, interviewed all the jurors and ordered a new trial for Kincaid.  


Coverage of Kincaid and Jansen's 2006 trial

Appellate Court 2009 opinion on  Kincaid and Jansen's requests for dismissal


The district attorney's office appealed the ruling and the Appeals Court agreed with the prosecution that any information about Lampron's flight came from juror speculation and not from some outside sources and that the evidence at trial permitted the jurors to infer that Lampron had fled. The court also ruled that the overwhelming evidence of Kincaid's guilt outweighed any influence that this information may have had upon the jury.  

The Supreme Judicial Court granted further appellate review of the Appeals Court's decision and affirmed Curley's order allowing a new trial for Kincaid. His second trial in December 2006 before Agostini resulted in a mistrial after the jury failed to deliver a verdict. Kincaid subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the indictments on double jeopardy grounds in the Superior Court. Agostini denied the motion and the Appeals Court affirmed the Superior Court's order.

Lampron was captured in Pennsylvania in 2002 and subsequently charged; he was sentenced to seven to 10 years in 2005, which he is serving concurrently with a similar sentence for his conviction on another rape in 1999. A third man, William E. Jansen of Pittsfield, was charged in October 2005. He was prosecuted along with Kincaid in the trial that ended with a hung jury. Both he and Kincaid attempted to have the charges dismissed but an Appeals Court last December upheld the indictments.

The three men were sharing an apartment in Lee when Jansen allegedly videotaped a masked Lampron and Kincaid have sex with the woman. The tape never surfaced but witnesses who saw it say the woman appeared to have been incapacitated.

Capeless, who as first assistant district attorney was the prosecuter at Kincaid's first trial, had high praise for the victim and the police investigators who have made numerous court appearances since 2000. 

"I have made every effort during the past 10 years to ensure that these horrible crimes were fully investigated and vigorously prosecuted, and that the convictions obtained were forcefully defended," he said. "I am gratified that our work and the decision of the first jury has finally been vindicated. The convictions in this case came about only as the result of a dogged, professional investigation by State Police Trooper Brian Berkel, the stoic persistence of the victim in seeing the case through, the commendable actions of the other witnesses in coming forward with their information, and the support and compassion shown to these persons by victim assistance advocate Mary Shogry. I am particularly pleased for all of them."

Tags: rape, Kincaid, Lampron, Jansen      

Pittsfield Police Identify Parking Garage Death

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are investigating the death of a 39-year-old city man.  

Police say the body of Adelino A. Cerveira of 150 Wahconah St. was discovered by a Berkshire Medical Center employee about 6 a.m. Sunday outside on the ground near the Charles Street parking garage. Investigators believe Cerveira fell from the second floor of the parking deck, the older of the hospital's two multidecker parking garages.

An autopsy was conducted Monday at BMC by Associate Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Abbott. Preliminary results indicate that Cerveira died of multiple traumatic injuries.  

The investigation is continuing, but investigators do not suspect foul play. A statement from the district attorney's office did not indicate whether police believe Cerveira fell or jumped. The Berkshire Eagle reported that a man jumped from a BMC parking deck in 2006.

Tags: BMC, fatal, fall      

Body of Missing Pittsfield Man Recovered

Berkshire News Network

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Police say they recovered the body of an elderly man who they believe is 61-year-old Francis Rocca, an Alzheimer’s patient who left his Francis Avenue home on July 13.

Police said the body was discovered early Thursday afternoon with the help of a specially trained corpse-sniffing dog in a heavily wooded area off Turner Avenue near the west branch of the Housatonic River.

Police were waiting for an official ID on the body but based on clothing and jewelry found on the body, investigators believe the dead man is Rocca. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday at the state medical examiner's office in Holyoke. Police say the death does not appear suspicious and indicated Rocca had been dead for some time.

Rocca, a carpenter and a veteran, has been suffering from Alzheimer's for two years. He reportedly spit out his medication on the night he left his home. Police were also hoping to come upon Robert DeFreest with the help of the dog. DeFreest, a homeless man, hasn't been seen since June 2009.

Tags: body, missing      

Pittsfield Woman Pleads Guilty in Husband's Slaying

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Pittsfield woman pleaded guilty to a single count of involuntary manslaughter on Friday morning in Berkshire Superior Court in the stabbing death of her husband, Arthur Martin, a year ago.

Sentencing for Charlene Grandson, Martin, 46, of West Street, was continued by Judge John A. Agostini until 2 p.m. on July 8.

Arthur Martin, 49, died Feb. 8 at Berkshire Medical Center from a stab wound inflicted the night before. Grandson Martin had told police her husband had the knife and they were joking around when he was struck by the knife as she pushed is arm away.

Police said an investigation found her story didn't match the facts.

For last year's articles, click here.
 

Tags: Martin, stabbing, fight, murder, manslaughter, Superior      
Page 60 of 63... 55  56  57  58  59  60  61  62  63  

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'
BCC Wins Grant for New Automatic External Defibrillator
Clark Art Screens 'Adaptation'
Drury High School to Host End-of-Year Showcase
Clarksburg Gets 3 Years of Free Cash Certified
Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests
MCLA Men's Lacrosse Falls in League Opener
Letter: Vote for Someone Other Than Trump
Berkshire Art Center's Dance Party Returns
Dalton Committee Seeks Funding for Invasive Species

Police Logs

Pittsfield Police

North Adams

Crimewatch Links

North Adams CrimeWatch

Stamford/Clarksburg CrimeWatch

Pittsfield CrimeWatch

Emergency: 911
Adams 413-743-1212
Clarksburg 413-663-7795
Cheshire 413-743-1501
Dalton 413-684-0300
Great Barrington 413-528-0306
Lanesborough 413-443-4107
Lee 413-243-2100
Lenox 413-637-2346
North Adams 413-664-4944
Pittsfield 413-448-9700
Richmond 413-698-3315
Stockbridge 413-298-4179
Williamstown 413-458-5733
West Stockbridge 413-232-7938
State Police  
Cheshire Barracks
413-743-
4700
Lee Barracks 413-243-0600
Shaftsbury, Vt., Barracks 802-442-3263

 



Categories:
Adams (92)
Alford (0)
Becket (8)
Cheshire (23)
Clarksburg (41)
Dalton (6)
Egremont (2)
Florida (9)
Great Barrington (34)
Hancock (5)
Hinsdale (5)
Lanesborough (30)
Lee (14)
Lenox (11)
Monterey (0)
Mount Washington (1)
New Ashford (4)
New Marlborough (2)
North Adams (248)
Otis (2)
Peru (3)
Pittsfield (318)
Pownal (16)
Readsboro (17)
Richmond (10)
Sandisfield (5)
Savoy (6)
Sheffield (5)
Stamford (31)
State (1)
Stockbridge (6)
Tyringham (1)
Washington (1)
West Stockbridge (1)
Williamstown (79)
Windsor (3)
Archives:
Tags:
Hit & Run Rape Drug Charges Buglaries Injuries Crime Watch Search Murder Fire Motor Vehicle Accident Accident Missing Persons Fatal Motor Vehicle Search & Rescue Assault Break-ins Assaults Pedestrians Vehicle Police Investigation Homicide Stabbing Robbery Structure Fire Shooting Armed Robbery Heroin Larceny Motorcycles Burglary Mvi Drugs Veremko Fraud
Popular Entries:
Superior Court Briefs: March 14 - March 16
Fatal Accident Closes Route 8 in Adams
Superior Court Briefs: May 2 - May 6
Woman Pleads Guilty in Sandisfield Fatal Crash
Superior Court Briefs: March 28 - March 31
Pittsfield Woman Pleads Guilty in Husband's Slaying
Superior Court Briefs: May 18 - 19
Superior Court Briefs: March 8 - March 11
Superior Court Briefs: March 23 - March 24
New Ashford Crash Turns Fatal for Williamstown Man
Recent Entries:
State Police Bust $3M Illegal Pot Growing Operation in Savoy
First-Responders Searching for Lost Hiker on Mount Greylock
Pittsfield Driver Injured in Elm Street Accident
North Adams Police Investigate Possible Shooting Incident
Williamstown Police Looking into Cemetery Vandalism
Florida Woman Dies in Motorcycle Accident
Pittsfield Fire Responds to Kitchen Blaze
Juvenile Arrested in North Adams Shooting
North Adams Police Seeking Information on Shooting Incident
Pittsfield Police Seek Information on Sunday Night Shootings