Man Charged with Drug Distribution, Illegal Firearm in Pittsfield

03:40PM / Wednesday, January 31, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Monday, Jan. 29, Charles Crosby, age 36, was arraigned in Berkshire District Court on the following charges:

Trafficking of 18 grams less than 36 grams of Heroin / Morphine / Opium
Drug Possession with Intent to Distribute Class B Substance
Drug Possession of a Class B Substance
Drug Possession to Distribute a Class E Substance
Possession of Firearm During a Felony
Possession of Ammunition Without an FID card
Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm
Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm without a license
Assault and Battery on a Police officer
Assault and Battery with attempt to Disarm a Police Officer
Resisting arrest
Distribution a Class B Substance

Crosby is being held pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled to take place on Feb. 5 in Central Berkshire District Court. Additionally, the Commonwealth has moved to revoke bail on a Hampden Superior Court Case stemming from an incident in September, 2020. The incident also involved possession of illegal firearms and large quantities of heroin and cocaine.

According to a report from the district attorney's office, on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, Pittsfield Police discovered an person, later identified as Charles Crosby, lying in the road on Bradford Street in Pittsfield. EMS were dispatched to the scene.

Upon approaching Crosby, law enforcement observed an open backpack near his person. A baggie of white, rectangular pills were seen in the backpack in plain sight. When law enforcement approached, Crosby rose to his feet and grabbed the shirt of one of the responding officers. A struggled ensued and a second officer ran to the scene, simultaneously calling dispatch to request back up. As the second officer approached, he observed a tan semi-automatic handgun tucked into the rear waistband of Crosby's pants. The second officer was able to secure the firearm while the struggle between law enforcement and Crosby continued.

Law enforcement announced that if Crosby did not comply with police a taser would be use. Crosby continued to struggle. At this time one of the officers tased Crosby in the back initiating a five second drive stun. Crosby then taken into law enforcement custody and transferred to Berkshire Medical Center for an assessment. Following the assessment, Crosby was transported to the Pittsfield Police Station.

Law enforcement recovered the following items:

Approximately 173 bundles (total weight approximately 34.6 grams) of heroin valued at approximately $6920 - $10,380
$1,531 Cash
Two cellphones
Unregistered Glock 23 Semi-automatic handgun loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition
Magazine with 10 round capacity
Ammunition loader
26 rounds of .40 caliber
One bag containing 146 Adderall pills with a street value of approximately $4,380.
One bag containing white pills suspected as Xanax (approximate total weight of 393 grams)
One bag containing yellow pills suspected as Xanax (approximate total weight of 514 grams)
Small amount of crack cocaine and a crack pipe

Pittsfield Police and the Berkshire County Drug Task force are the lead law enforcement in the case.

Tags: district attorney,

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Pittsfield School Committee Sees Budget Calendar, Chapter 70 Concerns

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:28AM / Monday, January 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools kicked off its fiscal year 2027 budget calendar, and are again facing uncertainties with state Chapter 70 funding.

During the first meeting of the new term on Wednesday, the School Committee OK'd an FY27 budget calendar that plans the committee's vote in mid-April. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips stressed the importance of equity in this process.

"It's really important for us through these next couple of months to look at our different schools, our different needs, different student demographics, and really understand, are we just assigning resources equally, or are we really assigning them based on what different groups of students need?" she said.

The district could lose up to $5 million in Chapter 70 funding from declining enrollment, specifically of low-income students. This is a similar issue that PPS saw in 2024, when the discovery of 11 students meeting those income guidelines put the district in the higher funding category and added $2.4 million to the school budget.

"We are in a funding category, Group 11, for a district with a large percentage of low-income students, and that number could fluctuate depending on who exited the district," Phillips explained.

"So we're going to do our best to understand that, but ultimately, these numbers will impact the budget that is proposed to us by the governor."

According to the budget calendar, a draft budget will be presented in March, followed by a hearing in early April, and the School Committee is set to vote on the budget in mid-April. The City Charter requires it to be adopted before May 1, and a meeting with the City Council must occur no later than May 31.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland provided an overview of the Chapter 70 funding and budget process. The budget calendar, she said, is designed to really support transparency, coordination, and legal compliance.

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