Pittsfield Woman Arrested for 'Machete' Armed Robbery at Big Y

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PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A city woman is being charged after allegedly threatening a grocery store clerk with a machete before stealing groceries. 

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the Pittsfield Police responded to Big Y Supermarket at 200 West St. for a report of a woman who pulled out a bladed object described as a "machete," pointed it at the employees in a threatening manner, and left the store with a cart full of items. 

Police Capt. Matthew Hill reported that the person, later identified as Collette Davis of Pittsfield, has been asked to leave the store by employees due to previous incidents. 

Additional charges were added the next day during her booking due to an alleged attack on officers. 

"Officers located Ms. Davis the following day (6/11) and [she] was subsequently placed under arrest on a warrant for the 6/10 incident. The "machete" that may have been used in the incident at Big Y was recovered & seized as evidence," he wrote. 


"Following her arrest, she assaulted two officers in the booking room of the PPD. 2 counts of Assault & Battery on a Police Officer were added against her. She was scheduled to be arraigned at Central Berkshire District Court." 

An eyewitness provided iBerkshires with an account of the incident, explaining that they saw a woman trying to steal a cart full of groceries pull out the large blade when asked to pay.  The person expressed a fear of Big Y becoming unsafe over the years and reported seeing a decrease in security. 


 


Tags: robbery,   

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Dalton Sale of Bardin Property Challenged

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The sale of the last parcel of the land known as the Bardin property is being challenged. 
 
The town received four bids on the property: $30,000, $31,500, $51,000, and $51,510. Dicken Crane of Holiday Farm was the highest bidder at $51,510 but was not awarded the parcel. The 9.15-acre property is located off Route 9, right on the town line of Windsor. 
 
During a Select Board meeting on Nov. 10, the board awarded the final parcel to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels that were under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction for $150,000. A fourth lot is in the town of Windsor. 
 
The Balardinis were the third highest bidder with at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded it to them in an effort to keep the property intact.
 
Board member John Boyle's reasoning for the decision included how the family has proposed an agricultural development project and will allow public access to their land, including for hunting, and his concerns about rights-of-way issues.
 
"The property up there has already been purchased from the town by the Balardini family. They have been great stewards of the land which is what the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture looks for," he said. 
 
The final parcel is not under an APR. 
 
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