Fire Director Stephen Meranti investigates a second-floor fire at the Boardman Block.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters made quick work Sunday of a fire in a second-floor bedroom in the Boardman Block.

"When we arrived we found a fire in one of the rooms and it was contained to one room," said Fire Director Stephen Meranti. "At this point, it's under investigation."

The block-long apartment building along Montana Street is regularly occupied by students attending Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The Fire Department responded to the call at about 4:30 p.m. The fire was contained by 5 p.m. but Montana Street was closed off for nearly two hours as the scene was investigated.

Meranti said at least two people were evacuating the affected apartment when firefighters arrived.

"The police evacuated the whole building and sent them over to [MCLA] dining hall, I believe, and once we checked all the apartments for carbon monoxide we allowed them back in," he said.

Arrangements were made by building's owner for the occupants of the fire-damaged apartment.

The fire appeared to be in unit 45 in the back of the building. Firefighters tossed a burnt office chair out the window to clear the area and a hose was still streaming water out onto the back roof shortly after 5 p.m.

The state fire marshal was called in to investigate the cause.

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, February 10.

Shaun Silverio, 24, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of possession of ammunition without a firearm identification care and single counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, illegal possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

He was released on $1,000 bail. The charges stem from an incident in Pittsfield on December 5, 2013. Silverio allegedly fired several shot at two men on Madison Avenue.

Hammad Singleton, 36, of Bronx, N.Y. had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of trafficking in cocaine, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was released on $5,000 cash or $50,000 surety bail. The incident allegedly occurred in North Adams between January 1, 2013 and November 26, 2013.

Rayquan Watford, 21, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

He was released on $2,000 bail. The charges stem from an incident on North Street in Pittsfield on December 8, 2013.

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, February 11.

Christine Barrett, 38, of Stamford, Vt. had not guilty pleas entered on her behalf on single counts of distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

She was released on personal recognizance. The incidents allegedly occurred in North Adams on July 11, 2013.

Lawrence Desmond, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y. had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of trafficking in cocaine, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was released on personal recognizance. The incidents allegedly occurred in North Adams between January 1, 2013 and November 26, 2013.

Alyssa Wylde, 22, of Adams had not guilty pleas entered on her behalf on single counts of larceny from a building and malicious destruction of personal property.

The charges are in connection with a home break in Adams between September 13, 2013 and November 5, 2013. She was released on personal recognizance.

Adam Filby, 29, of Adams had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of receiving stolen property over $250 and possession of oxycodone.

He was released on $500 ash or $5,000 surety bail. Filby was allegedly in possession of stolen property and oxycodone in Adams on November 13, 2013.

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, February 12.

Matthew Main, 24, of Adams had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of larceny from a building and malicious destruction of personal property.

He was released on personal recognition. The charges are in connection with a home break in Adams between September 13, 2013 and November 5, 2013.

PITTFIELD, Mass. — A pizza delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint Sunday night, according to Police.

Police said at about 6:50 p.m. on Sunday a driver was robbed in the parking lot of 32 Curtis Street when he arrived to make a delivery. Police said he was approached by a white man and a black man, both armed with handguns, who demanded his money. No further description was given and the driver's cash and wallet were stolen, Police said.

If anyone has information on the robbery, contact Pittsfield Police at 413-448-9700.

Update on Feb. 10 at 12:58 p.m.: Adam Lee Hall, 38, was sentenced to consecutive life sentences without  the possibility of parole, to be served at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction, on the three convictions of murder in the first degree in the killings of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell.

Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder also ordered Hall to serve several consecutive sentences on and after the final life sentence against Chadwell, beginning with a 12- to 15-year state prison sentence on the count of armed robbery against Glasser; an 8- to 10-year state prison sentence on a kidnapping charge against Glasser, and then a sentence of five to seven years, on the charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Hall was given concurrent state prison sentences on the other charges.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Adam Lee Hall, 38, of Peru was found guilty of three counts of murder after a monthlong trial held in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield.

The jury deliberated for about 17 hours over a four-day period before returning a verdict. He will be sentenced on Monday.

Hall, aka "Leo Mazoli" and a purported Hell's Angel, was accused of kidnapping and killing David Glasser, 44,  Edward Frampton, 58, and Robert Chadwell, 47, with two alleged accomplices. The three Pittsfield men were last seen at a Pittsfield apartment shared by Glasser and Frampton on Aug. 28, 2011. Glasser was set to testify against Hall in another case.

Co-defendants David Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield are to be tried separately.

Hall was found guilty on the three counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of  kidnapping and three counts of intimidation of a witness or other person.

He was also found guilty on a charge of intimidation of a witness or other person related to an incident with 24-year-old woman in Pittsfield July 2012; and single counts of kidnapping, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and a count of conspiracy in the intimidation of a witness or other person in connection with a plot to kidnap and intimidate Glasser on Aug. 14, 2010. He was found not guilty on another intimidation charge.
 
The jury found Hall guilty of single counts of armed robbery, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and count of intimidation of a witness or other person from another incident, in Peru, involving Glasser that occurred on July 21, 2009. However, he was not found guilty of kidnapping and extortion by threat of injury.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder ordered that Hall be held without bail pending sentencing on Monday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m.

The investigations were conducted by the Berkshire Detective Unit assigned to the district attorney’s office and the Pittsfield Police Department. They were assisted by the FBI,  the Berkshire County sheriff's office and members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force.

"I want to extend my appreciation and thanks to the jury for providing five weeks of service on behalf of their fellow citizens, their attention to the evidence throughout the trial, and for their obviously careful and thoughtful consideration of the evidence in the case. I also want to thank all of the many witnesses who came forward and testified," Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless said. "They should be congratulated for their willingness to share their testimony, and participate in the pursuit of justice on behalf of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell."

Capeless described the verdicts as resulting from a "through and relentless investigation" that will continue in the coming months as Chalue and Veiovis are tried.

The ladder truck from the Adams Fire Department is used to view the roof of the parish hall at All Saints Episcopal Church on Saturday.

Update: The third floor of the parish hall will have to be gutted and restored; water damage also affected the second floor and down into the kitchen, requiring repairs of those areas.

Remediation work on the parish hall began on Monday.

The religious education classes and the nursery on the third floor will be moved into the church for the time being.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters contained a top-floor blaze at All Saints Episcopal Church early Saturday evening.

A box alarm in the building alerted emergency crews at 7:51 p.m. to the fire on the third floor of the attached parish hall.

"When the guys got on scene we had firing showing from the third-floor window," said Fire Director Stephen Meranti. "We immediately called for an all-call to get all firefighters and officers in."

The blaze was under control within a half-hour but it was a couple hours before firefighters began to wrap up the scene.

The cause of the fire has not been determined and the department was keeping a fire watch through the night.

Services and Meals on Wheels deliveries for Sunday have been canceled.

Meranti said Lt. Mike Goodson supervised the response as firefighters stretched the line to the third floor and found the fire in a room off the center hallway.

"The knocked down the fire fairly quickly and it was contained to that one room," he said.

Witnesses said they could see smoke and some flames coming from the parish hall on the west side of the roof. Meranti said there was concern the fire had gotten into the attic but the flames were actually coming out through the small third-floor window.

The Adams Fire Department was called for the use of its ladder truck, just in case. "It's a big building," said Meranti.

The ladder truck was extended to survey the roof of the parish hall. Five firetrucks in all, plus the city's wire and alarm division, police and North Adams Ambulance Service responded to the scene. Summer Street was closed from Ashland Street to the former Kmart parking lot.

No one was in the parish hall at the time of the fire but a meeting being held in the church's basement was cut short. Services had been held in the church a few hours earlier.

Members of the parish council said the third floor contained the nursery and educational classes, which had been renovated in recent years. The rooms had also been painted and new carpet laid down.

The second floor holds the church's library and programming space.

Meranti said there was "extensive damage to the third floor, we have water damage to the building and damage to the fire alarm system."

The church itself, the former St. John's, was not damaged but the building cannot operate without the alarms, said Meranti.

Members of the parish leadership were allowed in to assess the damage, their observations being that it was bad, "but it could be worse."