News Briefs

Published on October 16, 2009

Ghost bike hit by Amherst vandals

Vandals destroyed a bicycle placed on Montague Road as a memorial to a cyclist who was killed by a hit-and-run vehicle while riding on the street last month.

Police were contacted at 5:31 p.m. Saturday after a passer-by reportedly observed two men using axes to chop up the "ghost bike" that was put up near 115 Montague Road following the Sept. 12 death of Blake Goodman, a 21-year-old former University of Massachusetts student from Wakefield.

Officers who responded were unable to locate the men, but did find the heavily damaged bicycle on the ground in what resembled a twisted heap of metal and punctured tires. Flowers next to and on the bicycle were also dumped to the ground.

The ghost bike was placed on the road by Dorothy Baumann, who owns Trailside Bicycles in Hadley. She put up a similar memorial on University Drive following the death of cyclist Misty Bassi, who was struck by a vehicle while riding on the street on Memorial Day.

The vehicle that struck Goodman and John Deary, of Montague Road, who suffered a leg injury in the accident, has not yet been located by police. Police have identified the suspect vehicle has a black Geo Prizm manufactured in the 1990s.

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the accident, or have been in the area of Montague Road at the time, to call the department at 259-3000 or the crime tip line at 259-3344.

- SCOTT MERZBACH

Judge's filing aids Vassell case defense

NORTHAMPTON - A judge last week said stabbing suspect Jason Vassell has grounds to pursue a defense that he is being prosecuted unfairly because he is black.

Accused of stabbing two white men in his University of Massachusetts dormitory Feb. 3, 2008, Vassell is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Vassell, 25, of Boston, claims he was the target of a hate crime, and that the charges he now faces are out of proportion with those brought against the other two men, John Bowes and Jonathan Bosse.

Already drawn out longer than most criminal proceedings of its type, Vassell's case was delayed further in recent months by a protracted back-and-forth between the county's highest court and the state's.

Hampshire Superior Court Judge Judd Carhart ruled in February Vassell's defense team should have access to five years' worth of data about racially charged altercations from the Northwestern District Attorney's office. The information could be used by the defense to support Vassell's claim of "selective prosecution."

Deputy First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris appealed to the state's Supreme Judicial Court. But rather than rule, the high court in July asked Carhart to clarify his order. Carhart's latest decision reaffirmed that ruling.

In an 11-page court filing dated Oct. 7 and made publicly available Friday, Carhart says Vassell has met the legal threshold to explore a defense of selective prosecution.

Farris said Friday her appeal is pending before the Supreme Judicial Court, which may issue a ruling or schedule a further hearing once it reviews Carhart's order.

- JAMES F. LOWE

Hadley man saved when tractor rolls

HADLEY - The man injured in a tractor accident in a Hadley field Thursday was listed in good condition Friday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Bruce Jenks, 46, of 41 South Maple St., suffered injuries after the tractor he was operating on Mill Valley Road rolled down an embankment and into a brook, trapping him underneath. Jenks was able to use his cell phone to call for help around 3:40 p.m., and when located by emergency personnel was transported by Life Flight helicopter to Baystate. That occurred about two hours after the accident.

Police Chief Dennis Hukowicz said Friday the accident remains under investigation by the Police and Fire departments, and that no cause has been identified. Hukowicz said officials may need to speak to Jenks before making a determination.

The farmland Jenks was working on is owned by Allard's Farm Inc. An employee at the dairy farm, reached by phone Friday afternoon, hung up before a reporter could ask questions.

Though Jenks called for help at 3:40 p.m., it wasn't until 4:15 p.m. that state police determined his position on the farm using satellite imagery and then were able to direct responders to the scene of the accident, among a row of trees in a narrow brook about a quarter-mile from the street.

A bucket loader from a nearby farm aided firefighters in freeing Jenks from underneath the tractor about 25 minutes later.

Local police and firefighters were assisted by members of the state police and the Amherst Fire Department.

- SCOTT MERZBACH

Problem dog to be killed this Saturday

Safety concerns for North Amherst residents and a violation of an agreement signed in January means a nuisance dog on Blackberry Lane will be euthanized.

In a letter last week to dog owner Karen Eddings, of 84 Blackberry Lane, Animal Welfare Officer Carol Hepburn wrote that the dog would be put down this Saturday.

"Your disregard of requirements you agreed to demonstrates your callous indifference to the welfare and safety of your neighbors and the well-being of the dog," Hepburn wrote.

The dog, which bit three people over a three-year period, was recently taken into custody by Hepburn after Eddings allegedly violated the terms of an agreement with the Select Board she signed in January.

Eddings, in an email, cautioned that what town officials have said and the press has reported have not accurately reflected what has happened. "Beware if you believe all you read and hear," Eddings said.

The dog, part herding and hound dog, was rescued by Eddings off a chain from a rural area in Heath. But after bringing the dog to Amherst, two people in 2006, an adult riding a bicycle and a child on his skateboard, were bitten.

"Unknowingly, (Leah) entered a highly stimulating area with bikes and kids galore," Eddings said.

In September 2008, Leah bit a 7-year-old girl in the neighborhood, which prompted the board to take action. Eddings, though, argues that the girl had previously been warned about Leah and said she feels the girl was actually playing chicken with her dog.

Shaffer said Leah showed how dangerous a dog she is when she bit Hepburn when the dog officer tried to brush her. Eddings said Leah has a phobia about being brushed.

Two deny charges after pot raid

NORTHAMPTON - Two men Tuesday denied charges stemming from a raid on a Belchertown home that police say yielded 111 marijuana plants.

Gregory Keefe, 27, of Dracut, and Rory L. Boyan, 26, of Lowell, each pleaded innocent in Hampshire Superior Court to a charge of possessing a class D drug with intent to distribute.

A third co-defendant, Colin R. Bently, 26, did not appear in court. His arraignment was rescheduled for Oct. 27.

Following an investigation by state police narcotics agent Sgt. Christopher Wilcox, authorities executed a search warrant April 21 at 90 Bay Road in Belchertown, where the men lived at the time.

According to a police report included in court files, two rooms on the second floor of the house contained potted marijuana plants and high-powered lights connected to timers. One room contained 38 plants while the other had 73, the report said.

Investigators also found record books used for drug transactions, marijuana pipes and bongs and receipts for garden supplies, according to the police report.

- JAMES F. LOWE

Cash said taken from market safe

SUNDERLAND - Millstone Market is taking measures to improve its security following a break into its safe, police said Tuesday.

Police are investigating the break-in at the South Main Street market.

"The break-in probably happened late Thursday night or early Friday morning, but nobody noticed it until late Friday afternoon," Sunderland Police Chief Jeffrey Gilbert said Tuesday.

According to the chief, when the staff went to deposit the day's receipts into the safe, they discovered that the depository had been broken into.

"The thieves apparently had a pry bar that they used to get through the back door and then into the safe," he said.

The police chief said cash was taken from the safe, but he would not say how much.

No one at Millstone Market was available for comment Tuesday.

- The Recorder