Update: Sumner Sentenced To Life In Prison

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Updated on June 18, 2024 at 2:45 pm: On Monday, June 17, Tyler Sumner was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for one count of murder in the first degree.

For one count of possession of ammunition without FID card, the defendant was sentenced to two years in the House of Corrections to be served concurrent with the one count of murder in the first degree.

Sumner was sentenced in front of Judge Flannery Berkshire Superior Court for one count of murder in the first degree.
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Adams man was found guilty in the 2019 murder of 32-year-old Stephanie Olivieri, a Pittsfield native and mother of two.
 
A jury found Tyler Sumner, 30, guilty on Friday of murder in the first degree and possession of ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card.
 
The trial was held in Berkshire Superior Court. Judge Francis Flannery will schedule sentencing.
 
"Today justice was served in the tragic death of an innocent bystander, Stephanie Olivieri; however, this guilty verdict will do nothing to bring her back," said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. "Tyler Sumner murdered Ms. Olivieri while she sat in a car filled with gifts and decorations for her child's birthday. She was preparing to celebrate a wonderful event when her life was ruthlessly cut short."
 
Olivieri, who had been living in Yonkers, N.Y., was found sitting in her running car on Columbus Avenue when police responded to reports of masked men near South John Street and heard gunshots on the way.
 
The officers found Olivieri gasping for breath and blood running down the right side of her head. She was treated by emergency medical services and then transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead. The Chief Medical Examiner found the cause of her death to be a homicide caused by wounds sustained from a bullet to her head.
 
Multiple individuals testified that they believed Sumner was targeting an individual living in the area of the shooting and that Olivieri was not the intended target.
 
Police recovered items at and around the crime scene, including eight spent shell casings on the ground surrounding the car and a broken passenger side window; video surveillance from multiple residences and businesses; clothing and DNA; witnesses present at the time of the crime; individuals with suspected knowledge of what occurred; recorded calls from the Hampden County House of Corrections, and a singular text message exchange in which Sumner instructs the owner to get rid of a black Chevrolet Malibu, of which officers were able to take custody.
 
Video surveillance obtained by law enforcement showed a black sedan (the Malibu) circling the area for hours prior to the shooting, flashes of light consisten with gun shots, three figures running away from where the shots were fired and individuals getting in and out of a dark sedan and its travel along several streets. 
 

Tags: murder,   

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Companion Corner: Fox at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and energetic dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for his new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Fox is a 3-year-old Pomeranian who has been at the shelter for about a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Fox. 

"He's a bundle of joy. He would love a family who's home with him a lot, because he's just, he's very social and wants to be with his people a lot. And he would be fun to bring out and about, bring a lot of places, because he's very happy to go anywhere," she said.

When Fox enters the room he is immediately a puffball of energy that goes around and around the room.

He came to the shelter after his former owner could not take care of him anymore. 

"The owner was just not able to care for him anymore. Had he came in with another dog, Wolf, and she already did find her forever home just last week," said Olivieri. "The two of them were left with a friend of the original owner, and the owner did not come back to pick them up, and the friend had too many animals in the house, and too much going on, and she just couldn't continue to look after them, so they did end up coming to us."

Fox can go home with cats and children but is not recommended to go home with other dogs as he gets too excited.

"He would love a home where people are home quite a bit to give him all the attention that he so desires. He loves kids. He absolutely adores children. So he would like a home with kids to play with. He could live with cats. We are saying that he should not live with other dogs. The only reason is that he gets very humpy, and he does not leave the other dogs alone," she said.

With his energy it is recommended he goes to a home that can keep him active whether walks or hikes and even fetch in the yard.

Fox does need to learn more about walking on a leash and has a tendency to mark in the house but he was recently neutered. Olivieri said belly bands will be sent home with whoever adopts him to help prevent marking and managing it.

"He would like an active home. He really does like to go for walks daily. He likes to run around in the yard. He does need a little work on leash walking. He sometimes gets a little tangled still under your feet, and he's learning how to walk on a leash," she said. "So, someone who's got some patience and some time to work on some training with him."

"He also is not fully potty trained, so he does know to go potty outside. However, he will still mark, urinate in the house sometimes, and he might poop here and there in the house."

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