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Superior Court Briefs: November 18 - November 21
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Monday, November 18.
Stuart Zebrowski, 55, of Chicopee pleaded guilty to nine counts of burning wood or other property, five counts of larceny under $250, four counts of breaking and entering in the daytime, three counts of burning a building and two counts of larceny from a building.
He was ordered to serve concurrent four to seven years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the burning a building and breaking and entering charges. He was given concurrent time on the others.
Zebrowski set fire to structures in New Marlborough on June 16, 2011, in Sandisfield on January 26, 2012 and in Great Barrington on March 8, 2012. He also broke into a home in Great Barrington on March 5, 2012, on in Sheffield on March 12, 2012, one in Otis on March 29, 2012 and a building in Stockbridge on April 4, 2012. He also set numerous brush fires in New Marlborough, Egremont, Richmond, Lee and Monterey between April 30, 2009 and April 5, 2012.
Six counts other counts of burning wood or other property were dismissed by the state.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, November 20.
Arthur Russell Jr., 44, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child and three counts of rape of a child with force.
He was sentenced to 10 to 12 years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the rape charges. He was sentenced to concurrent eight to 10 years on the indecent assault charges.
Russell sexually assaulted two girls, ages eight and nine, in Pittsfield between August 15, 2011 and September 23, 2012.
Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, November 21.
Daniel Lowenstein, 23, of Amherst was found guilty by a jury on three counts of distribution of marijuana and single counts of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
He was ordered to be held without bail until sentencing on Nov. 26. Lowenstein sold marijuana to an undercover police officer in Great Barrington on February 23, 2013, March 2, 2013 and March 9, 2013 and was in possession of marijuana with intent to sell the drug in Great Barrington on March 9, 2013. The other charges occurred in Great Barrington on March 9, 2013.
A single counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs was dismissed by the state.
Police Investigating Fatal Williamstown Crash
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Pownal, Vt., man was killed Sunday morning in a head-on accident on Route 7 near Mount Greylock Regional High School.
Lawrence George, 64, was pronounced dead at the scene after a Ford Explorer collided with his Hyundai Electra at about 10:40 a.m. on Cold Spring Road.
According to police, the Explorer was northbound on the highway when the driver, driven by William Lowe, 34, of Pawtucket, R.I., lost control of the vehicle just north of the school and veered into the southbound lane, striking the Hyundai head on.
A woman who was a passenger in the Ford was trapped in the wreckage and freed by firefighters. She and Lowe were taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield with non-life-threatening injuries.
Both vehicles were totaled and Cold Spring Road closed until 3 p.m. until the state police accident reconstruction and Crime Scene Services teams released the scene. State police from the Cheshire Barracks also assisted with the closure and traffic.
Williamstown Police and Fire departments and Village Ambulance Service responded to the scene. The accident remains under investigation; police said no further information would be immediately available.
Six Facing Charges For Wind Farm Copper Theft
Somerville Youth Arraigned in Alleged Camp Rape
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Somerville youth was arraigned on Thursday in Berkshire Superior Court in relation to an alleged rape during a training retreat for high school athletes.
Galileo Mondol, 17, appeared before Judge John Agostini and had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf for single counts of aggravated rape of a child under age 16 and indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained the age of 14; two counts of assault with intent to rape a child younger than 16; and three counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.
He was released on $100,000 cash bail on condition he have no contact, either directly or indirectly, with any of the victims and witnesses in the case, that he not attend Somerville High School, abide by an 11 p.m. curview unless with his parents and surrender his passport to the Probation Department.
The incident allegedly occurred at Camp Lenox in Otis, where the city of Somerville had rented the facility for team-building activities for its fall sports teams. It is alleged that Mondol, a junior and soccer player at Somerville High School, entered a cabin occupied by freshman students on Sunday, Aug. 25, and assaulted three victims. Two other juveniles, age 16, are also facing charges in the attack, in which one boy was allegedly raped with a broomstick.
About 165 students from the eastern Massachusetts high school attended the training at Camp Lenox along with some 20 adults.
The investigation is being conducted by state police detectives assigned to the Berkshire district attorney's office assisted by state police detectives assigned to the Middlesex district attorney's office and the Somerville Police Department.