Those Charged In Recent Pittsfield Shootings Are Detained

11:55AM / Tuesday, May 31, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — All individuals Pittsfield Police charged in four shootings between February and April have been detained and each defendant is currently in custody.

On Friday, the court found that Keyondre Taft possessed a danger to the community and that he be detained pre-trial. He is one of six people police arrested and charged in shootings between February and April.

Taft and two others are currently detained pre-trial without the right to bail on charges related to the April 26 shooting on Brierwood Lane.

Michael Rose remains in custody without the right to bail in the Feb. 1 homicide of Jeric Black.

Terrell Ortiz remains in custody without the right to bail on a charge of assault and battery with a firearm related to the March 3 shooting on West Street.

Laquan Johnson is in custody without the right to bail in the April 4 homicide of Stephan Curley.

The police never charged Johnson as the shooter in the previous Glenwood Avenue drive-by shooting but did charge him with illegal possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property as the passenger in a vehicle. Johnson was convicted of both charges, and the District Attorney's Office requested a jail sentence of at least one year. Defense counsel requested probation. The court imposed a two-year sentence but suspended it and placed Johnson on probation.

Additionally, David Moody received a guilty conviction in the Glenwood Avenue case. He is currently serving 2 1/2 years in state prison for that crime.

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Pittsfield Considers Repairing East Part Cemetery

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:57AM / Friday, October 02, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Historical Commission will consider grant opportunities for repairs to East Part Cemetery.

A resident reached out to the city with concerns about degradation in the half-acre burial ground at the top of Williams Street. East Part Cemetery was established in the early 1800s and has about 300 interments.

“It's a nice old cemetery, and basically, (the resident) had had concerns that the stone wall had taken some damage, the gravestones have taken some damage, and was wondering if there's anything that could be done to repair the gravestones and the wall," City Planner Kevin Rayner told the commission on Monday.

In cooperation with cemetery leadership and residents, the Historical Commission will consider applying for Community Preservation Act funds to support repairs. West Part Cemetery, on the other side of Pittsfield, has previously used CPA funds for revitalization work.

The 1080 Williams St. property is owned by the city and managed by the Pittsfield Cemetery Commission. Rayner presented photos of broken and overgrown gravestones, parts of the stone wall collapsing, and knocked-over obelisks.

Some aspects could use general maintenance and restoration, he observed.

According to the Pittsfield Cemetery and Crematory's website, East Part Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground.

In 1842, Nathan Webb's son, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield as a public burying ground, and in 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery. Their action was confirmed by the Berkshire Probate Court.