Police Report

Compiled by SCOTT MERZBACH

Published on October 30, 2009

Amherst Police

* Michael J. Lafarr, 52, of Ware, was arrested Tuesday at 6:46 a.m. on Belchertown Road on charges of speeding and operating a motor vehicle with a license suspended as the result of non-payment of child support, police said.

* Angel L. Martinez, 31, of Ludlow, was arrested Monday at 3:13 p.m. on South Pleasant Street on four outstanding warrants from Springfield District Court, police said.

* Billie D. Anninos, 29, Chapel Road, was arrested Monday at 12:28 a.m. at his home on charges of disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest after police went to his home for a well-being check, police said.

Anninos was arrested after he yelled obscenities at officers and made threatening gestures toward them, police said.

* Police took reports Sunday at 10:38 p.m. and 11:57 p.m. that two Puffton Village homes were entered through unlocked doors and electronic equipment, including laptops, X-box 360 game console, and PlayStation 3 game systems, were stolen.

* A Belchertown man was arrested late Sunday afternoon after a home invasion at a North Amherst apartment in which he allegedly broke in through a sliding glass door, threatened people with a knife and then damaged a vehicle.

Sgt. William Menard, supervisor of the police detective bureau, said Monday that Jayson R. Stinson entered a unit at Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street through an open sliding-glass door at 3:58 p.m., and once inside used a knife to make threats toward two men and one woman, flipped over a table and threw it against the wall, and then left.

Once outside the apartment, Stinson located the woman's vehicle and damaged it, police said.

Stinson, 26, was arrested at 5:19 p.m. at Colonial Village on charges of malicious destruction of property over $250, home invasion and breaking and entering during the daytime to commit a felony and to place people in fear, police aid.

Menard said Stinson appeared to be motivated by retaliation for a previous incident that occurred during the summer.

* A 34-year-old Amherst man will be summoned to court on a charge of malicious damage to a motor vehicle after he broke the windshield and side mirror on a vehicle parked at Southpoint Apartments during an incident Sunday at 4:30 a.m., police said.

* Police made arrests at two homes early Sunday morning where loud parties were taking place.

In the first incident on Phillips Street, Jeremy M. Werther, 19, of Needham, was arrested at 1:15 a.m. on charges of violating the town's noise bylaw, being a minor in possession of alcohol and procuring alcohol for minors, police said.

Werther was arrested after police responded to the home for a large party where numerous underage people were consuming alcohol, police said.

At 1:56 a.m. on North Pleasant Street, police found more than 100 people gathered for a party. Eric M. Cronin, 21, of Peabody, Benjamin J. Potash, 26, of Barnstable, and Alexander N. Sachs, 25, of North Pleasant Street, were all arrested on charges of violating the town's noise, police said,

A 20-year-old Somerville man will also be summoned to court on a charge of violating the town's noise bylaw, police said.

Two assaults were also reported Sunday morning. The first took place at 3:40 a.m. on Belchertown Road, where a man said he was punched in the face twice while trying to leave a party, The second report came in at 3:42 a.m. from Townehouse Apartments, where a woman said she was hit by a man who was trying to remove her from the residence. The woman admitted that she didn't live at the home, but was planning to stay there for the night.

* Four people were injured when a vehicle traveling on West Street near The Notch hit a rock wall and flipped over early Sunday morning, police said.

A 19-year-old Milton man who was driving the vehicle at 2:50 a.m. will be summoned to court on charges of reckless operation of a motor vehicle to endanger, speeding and failure to stay within marked lanes, police said.

All four people in the vehicle were transported by Amherst Fire Department ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, but police did not have information about who the occupants were, though characterized their injuries as non-life threatening.

* Robert Sousie, 40, of Hinsdale, N.H., was arrested Sunday at 2:39 a.m. on North Pleasant Street on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and failure to stop/ yield, police said.

* A police cruiser rearended by a vehicle on North Pleasant Street in North Amherst led to the arrest of the driver early Sunday morning.

Claricio Valdez Jr., 22, of Old Long Plain Road, Leverett, was arrested Sunday at 2:31 a.m. on North Pleasant St. on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and obstructing an emergency vehicle, police said.

* A would be prankster tried to dupe South Whitney Street revelers Sunday by having real Amherst police officers arrive before hired strippers dressed as police officers did.

Police said they took a call Oct. 24 at 10:09 p.m. from a Hobart Lane resident asking that officers respond to a loud party on South Whitney Street. Before police could respond, they took a call from a second caller who said his friend was just trying to play a prank on those attending the party.

According to the police dispatching narrative, the first caller knew strippers were going to be at the party and "was thinking it would be hilarious if real cops showed up and the partygoers thought they were strippers."

Police checked in with the South Whiney Street residents who said they were just having a birthday party and didn't need police response.

* A 25-year-old Chicago, Ill. man will be summoned to court on a charge of possession of a class B substance, cocaine, after he discarded a pill bottle containing cocaine while being sent on his way from a downtown bar Oct. 24 at 9:03 p.m., police said.

* A 31-year-old Amherst woman will be summoned to court on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon after she allegedly used a knife to threaten her landlord at a South Amherst home Oct. 24 at 10:02 a.m., police said.

* Police are investigating an incident reported Oct. 24 at 2:18 a.m. in which a man was punched in the face while at a party on South East Street. The victim suffered a serious head injury and went to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.

* A man told police another man showed a handgun and demanded money from him in an armed robbery that occurred on Boltwood Walk near the parking garage Oct. 23 at 10:18 p.m.

The suspect fled on foot and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

The matter remains under investigation.

* Police spent two hours locating a lost hiker at Amethyst Brook Conservation Area on the night of Oct. 23. The woman contacted police by cell phone at 6:47 p.m. and, after a search that received assistance from a state police K9 unit, the woman was found safely. Police said the search lasted two hours and the woman didn't need medical attention when she was found.

* Deidreann M. Dennis, 24, of Mill Valley Estates, was arrested Oct. 23 at 5:43 a.m. at a South Amherst home on a charge of domestic assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after she struck a man in the head with a bottle, police said.

* Three laptops, an X-box game console and a wireless router were all reported stolen from an unlocked Puffton Village home Oct. 23 at 2:38 a.m.

* Charlene Perez, 23, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was arrested Oct. 22 at 8:55 p.m. on North Pleasant Street on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop at crosswalk, police said.

The vehicle Perez was driving was stopped after it didn't yield for a pedestrian already halfway across the street, police said.

* A 53-year-old Holyoke man will be summoned to court on a charge of trespassing after he was found inside the Big Y Supermarket store on University Drive Oct. 22 at 12:34 p.m., police said.

The man had earlier been issued a trespass notice to stay out of all Big Y stores following a recent shoplifting incident, police said.

* Ben S. Zentrich, 21, of Eastman Lane, was arrested Oct. 21 at 1:13 a.m, on North Pleasant Street on a charge of disorderly conduct, police said.

Zentrich was arrested after he was found urinating on the front of a retail store while people were passing by him, police said.

* Barbara D. Dasilva, 20, of West Street, was arrested Oct. 20 at 1:29 p.m. at the CVS Pharmacy on North Pleasant Street on a charge of shoplifting after she placed $60.62 worth of merchandise in her shoulder bag and tried to leave the store without paying for the items, police said.

* Police are bringing charges against the suspect in an assault that occurred in late September in which a University of Massachusetts student suffered severe facial injuries.

Lt. Ron Young, head of the police detective bureau, said that a 19-year-old Foxboro man, who is a student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, will be summoned to court on a charge of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, police said.

The incident occurred Sept. 26 at 12:41 a.m. on North Pleasant Street.

The victim, a 21-year-old man from Providence, R.I., needed surgery for his injuries, police said.

* A 72-year-old Chicopee man will be summoned to court on a charge of credit card fraud under $250 after police determined he stole a woman's credit card on Sept. 10 and used it to make purchases at several locations in Amherst, police said.

* Between Oct. 20 and Oct. 27, police recovered four wallets, a bicycle, two backpacks, two purses, two cell phones, a GPS navigational unit, a toolbox and a license plate and took a report of a lost bicycle. Police checked for speeding vehicles on Pine Street, Station Road, High Street, South East Street, Harvard Avenue, Amity Street, High Street, West Street, Mill Lane and Belchertown Road, performed well being checks on five residents, provided two courtesy escorts and one escort for a funeral, and stopped vehicles on Amherst streets and issued one warning for operating with an obstructed license plate, two warnings for operating with broken license plate lights, seven warnings for operating without headlights, one warning for throwing trash from a moving vehicle, two warnings for failure to stop at red lights, one warning for failure to yield and one warning for failure to dim high beams to oncoming traffic.

Police responded to false alarms at four homes, six businesses and the Jewish Community Center, checked on vehicles parked on Columbia Drive, Pine Street, Hallock Street, Whippletree Lane, Bayberry Lane and Squire Lane and at the parking garage and the Station Road entrance to the Norwottuck Rail Trail.

Hadley Police

* Police are continuing to search for a man who held up the Burger King restaurant on Route 9 on the night of Oct. 23.

The suspect did not display any weapons, but gave an employee a note saying that he "intended to harm everyone in the restaurant if he was not given all the cash immediately."

The suspect was given money by a clerk and fled the store.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 584-0883.

* A purse was reported stolen from a vehicle that had a window smashed from it while parked in front of a Route 9 store in an incident reported Oct. 21 at 8:14 p.m.

* Tatiana Escobar, 19, of Orchard Hill Drive, Amherst, was arrested Oct. 21 at 5:41 p.m. at Whole Foods Market at Mountain Farms Mall on a charge of shoplifting after she attempted to leave the store without paying for $146.89 in groceries, police said.

* Jacqueline Rivera, 36, of Southpoint Apartments, Amherst, was driving her vehicle on Mill Valley Road Oct. 17 at 11;05 p.m. when she lost control of it and the vehicle went off the road into a tree stump, police said.

River suffered back and shoulder injuries and was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.

* Several items were reported stolen from a vehicle that was broken into while parked in the Hampshire Mall parking lot Oct. 16 at 11:42 p.m.

UMass Police

* Robert C. Lagoy Jr., 21, of Meadow Street, Hadley, was arrested Oct. 21 at 2:01 a.m. on North Pleasant Street on charges of possession of class B and E substances and speeding, police said.

* Amelia K. Govan, 21, of New York, N.Y., was arrested Oct. 19 at 4:58 p.m. on University Drive on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a crosswalk violation and possession of a class B substance, police said.

* Rondale Davis, 19, of Dorchester, was arrested Oct. 18 at 2:28 a.m. at Kennedy dormitory on three counts of assault and battery, police said.

* Megan K. Rohan, 27, of Fitchburg, was arrested Oct. 17 at 11:51 p.m. on Massachusetts Avenue on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and speeding, police said.

* Stephan T. Georgacopoulos, 22, of Arlington, and Paul D. Tafe, 22, of Braintree, were both arrested Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. at Alumni Stadium on charges of disorderly conduct, police said.

* Christopher C. Nolin, 20, of Northborough, was arrested Oct. 17 at 12:23 a.m. on Hicks Way on charges of disorderly conduct and indecent exposure, police said.

* Jason Cunningham, 21, of Mattapan, was arrested Oct. 16 at 8:07 a.m. at MacKimmie dormitory on an outstanding warrant, police said.

* Kevin W. McCann, 19, of Northborough, was arrested Oct. 16 at 11:43 p.m. in Lot 32E off Massachusetts Avenue on a charge of disorderly conduct, police said.

* George G. McNellage, 20, of Franklin, was arrested Oct. 16 at 11:20 p.m. on North Pleasant Street on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle with no license in possession and following another vehicle too closely, police said.

* Matthew J. Brady, 20, of Rumford, R.I., was arrested Oct. 16 at 10:41 p.m. on Massachusetts Avenue on charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, being a minor in possession of alcohol and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, police said.

Day-by-Day Amherst Police Calls

TUESDAY, OCT. 20

CITIZEN ASSISTANCE

* 9:33 p.m. - A man came to the police station to report that he ate some of his roommate's food and afterward received a letter from the roommate demanding an apology and $30 reimbursement and that if such activity didn't stop he would lace the food with laxatives in the future.

DISTURBANCES

* 12:59 a.m. - A man and woman were found punching and putting each other in headlocks outside the downtown bars. They told police they were just goofing off.

LARCENY

* 10:32 a.m. - More than $500 worth of items, including iPods, were reported stolen from backpacks at the high school.

ANIMAL COMPLAINTS

* 2:55 p.m. - A loose dog on Hedgerow Lane was taken to the pound.

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

* 7:27 p.m. - Paul T. Jackson, 26, of West Roxbury, was riding his motorcycle on Sunderland Road when it hit a patch of sand and he lost control of the bike and crashed, police said.

An Amherst Fire Department ambulance responded to the scene to check on Jackson, who declined treatment, police said.

The gas tank, blinker, peg, exhaust and handlebar on the motorcycle all sustained significant damage, police said.

A heavy gas spill on the road was cleared, according to police.

* 7:32 p.m. - William D. Wonsey, 21, of Bay Road, Hadley, was issued a written warning for failure to use care in turning after the vehicle he was driving at the intersection of Main and North Whitney streets collided with a vehicle driven by Oliver Gasior, 21, of Dover, police said.

Gasior was issued a written warning for unlicensed operation, police said.

Damage to both vehicles was minor and no personal injuries were reported, according to police.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

DISTURBANCES

* 12:27 p.m. - Police kept the peace between neighbors at Echo Village Apartments who were arguing over a guest.

* 10:42 p.m. - A woman who was being aggressive toward passers-by while pandhandling on Kellogg Avenue was issued a warning to calm down.

LARCENY

* 1:34 p.m. - A theft was reported from a vehicle parked at Puffton Village.

ANIMAL COMPLAINTS

* 2:06 p.m. - A loose horse in the road at corner of Bay and Elf Hill roads was corralled by its owner.

THURSDAY, OCT. 22

LARCENY

* 3:06 p.m. - Three energy drinks and two bottles of soda were reported stolen form the CVS Pharmacy on North Pleasant Street by two boys, who were not located.

VANDALISM

* 7:58 a.m. - Four headstones in West Cemetery were reported damaged.

FRIDAY, OCT. 23

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

* 10:51 p.m. - Police advised a taxicab driver to stop picking up people for the night after he was unable to post a fare schedule or produce his license. The same vehicle was stopped the next night at Puffton Village with six passengers inside, and again the driver was unable to show a fare sheet.

DISTURBANCES

* 2:48 a.m. - A Colonial Village woman told police her former boyfriend was knocking at her door and bothering her. The man fled before police got there, but police provided advice to the woman on dealing with the ongoing problem.

LARCENY

* 1:50 a.m. - Police were notified by a taxi driver that a man and woman refused to pay their $10 fare after they were brought to Puffton Village.

ANIMAL COMPLAINTS

* 9:14 a.m. - Police are investigating an attack on a dog by another dog that allegedly occurred on Blake Field.

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

* 12:35 p.m. - Ilise M. Simard, 22, of Granby, was issued a citation for failure to stop at a red light after the vehicle she was driving on West Street at the intersection with Pomeroy Lane collided with a vehicle driven by Jeffrey G. Hagen, 52, of Belchertown, police said.

Hagen suffered minor injuries and was transported by Amherst Fire Department ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Hagen's vehicle was towed from the scene, police said.

* 3:31 p.m. - Tonynam H. Lam, 20, of Worcester, was issued a citation for failure to use care in stopping after the vehicle he was driving on University Drive rear-ended a vehicle driven by Madeline H. Nally, 20, of Reading, which in turn was pushed into a vehicle driven by Michael T. McGrath, 20, of North Chelmsford, police said.

Nally complained of neck pain and was treated at the scene by Amherst Fire Department ambulance personnel, police said.

All three vehicles left the scene under their own power, police said.

SATURDAY, OCT. 24

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

* 12:44 a.m. - A man urinating against a wall on Boltwood Walk was issued a warning and sent on his way.

CITIZEN ASSISTANCE

* 8:48 p.m. - A Rolling Green Drive woman told police she held a Halloween party for youths and someone sneaked alcohol into the party.

DISTURBANCES

* 12:53 a.m. - Police separated two women at a Nutting Avenue location after they got into a physical altercation over performing house chores.

VANDALISM

* 9:27 a.m. - A mailbox from Goldenrod Circle was thrown into the yard of a Rolling Ridge home following a party the previous night.

BREAK-INS

* 8:56 a.m. - Two unlocked vehicles were entered on McClure Street, but nothing was reported missing from them.

FIGHTS

* 1:28 a.m. - Police kept the peace between people fighting in the middle of Phillips Street.

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

* 5:14 p.m. - George R. Popp, 20, of Medway, was issued a written warning for failure to use care in stopping after the vehicle he was driving on North Pleasant Street collided with a vehicle driven by Jacob Kantzer, 21, of Amherst Road, Sunderland, police said.

Casey Patterson, 22, of Whitman and a passenger in Kantzer's vehicle, complained of pain to her neck and was checked at the scene by Amherst Fire Department paramedics, police said.

SUNDAY, OCT. 25

DISTURBANCES

* 4:03 a.m. - Police kept the peace at an Amherst restaurant where people got into a dispute over their food order.

The customers were advised they could take their complaints to civil court.

* 7:08 p.m. - A woman yelling and cursing at the Amherst Cinema was advised she could be issued a trespass order if she continued to act out.

VANDALISM

* 10:41 a.m. - A house number sign on Northampton Road was broken off its post by vandals.

* 11:56 a.m. - A window was smashed out on a vehicle parked on Fearing Street.

BREAK-INS

* 1:28 p.m. - A television set and a DVD player were stolen from a Chapel Road home that was entered some time since 4 p.m. the previous day through a smashed window.

ASSAULTS

* 11:24 a.m. - An Amherst woman told police she was confronted by five men when she returned to her home. The woman was not injured.

TRAFFIC

* 2:23 p.m. - A bull got loose from a North East Street farm and ran into the road after it became agitated when steers were put into its field.

The owners were able to get the large animal back into a separate pen, where it calmed down.

MONDAY, OCT. 26

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

* 11:44 a.m. - A scam in which a person selling a book received a fake check, and then was asked to send money back to the buyer because of overpayment, was reported to police.