PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are searching for another Pittsfield man suspected in six armed robberies.

 

Damian Ivas, 40, of Pittsfield is wanted in connection with robberies of the Getty on Elm Street, Dawes Avenue Variety, Peaslee's on Wahconah, Subway on Tyler Street, Angelina's on Elm Street, and Cumberland Farms on Dalton Avenue.

 

Police say he worked with George Bliss, who was arrested for the same robberies on Jan. 26. Ivas is currently on the loose and considered armed and dangerous.

 

Police received an arrest warrant for Ivas in Central Berkshire District court and is charging his with six counts of armed robbery while masked. 

 

Police say Ivas' whereabouts is currently unknown and are seeking the public's help in locating the man. Police say "under no circumstances should the public approach or confront Ivas, who is considered armed and dangerous."

 

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 448-9700 and press 0 for dispatch.

 

The city has seen an outbreak of robberies with 12 occurring since late November. Six other cases are still under investigation. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police arrested a Pittsfield man for a half dozen armed robberies committed in the last month

 

George Bliss, 30, of Onota Street is being charged with six counts of armed robbery while masked. Police say Bliss admitted his involvement in the following robberies in the last month: the Getty on Elm Street on Dec. 23; Dawes Avenue Variety on Jan. 7; Peaslee's on Jan. 9; Subway and Angelina's both on Jan. 23, and the Cumberland Farms on Dalton Avenue on Jan. 24.

 

He is being held at the Police Department on $100,000 bail and will be arraigned in court on Wednesday. These cases, as well as about six others committed, are still under investigation so Police are still asking for anyone with information to contact them at 448-9705.

 

Bliss was arrested on two outstanding warrants Tuesday night at about 5:20 p.m. He was identified after Heidi Bliss, 35, of Onota Street was arrested in connection to the Cumberland Farms robbery. While under arrest George Bliss consented to an interview in which he admitted involvement in the robberies, Police said.

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Original Post: 10:02AM / Saturday January 23, 2016

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are investigating what appears to be a murder after a Springfield man was found dead on Fenn Street early Saturday morning.

 

The district attorney's office say at about 1:30 a.m. police responded to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive man near 129 Fenn Street —  near Lach's Lounge, across the street from City Hall, and less than 100 yards from the police station.

 

Officers found 30-year-old James Dominguez III laying on the ground and first responders were unable to revive him. He was transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

 

Police suspect the Springfield man was murdered and are seeking information pertaining to the events leading to his death. An autopsy will be conducted by the chief medical examiner in Holyoke to determine the cause of death but a time has not yet been scheduled.

 

Police are asking for anyone with information to call them at 413-448-9700.

 

According to Berkshire Superior Court records, Dominguez III pleaded guilty seven weeks ago to two counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws, and single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

 

Those charges related to a search warrant executed on Columbus Avenue on September 25, 2014. He was arrested with two other Springfield men in that raid which police seized 300 bags of heroin, around 50 grams of cocaine, and $4,000 cash. 

 

He was ordered to serve concurrent 261-day sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction, which was time he already served awaiting the outcome of the case.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are investigating two more robberies.

 

Police say Angelina's Sub Shop on Elm Street and Subway on Tyler Street were both robbed Saturday night, less than a half hour apart.

 

At about 7:48 p.m. a suspect described as a light skinned white male, mid twenties to early thirties, approximately 6-feet tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds, with a thin build robbed the Subway at gunpoint. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, light colored mask, dark colored pants, and dark colored gloves.

 

About 20 minutes later, a white man in his mid-twenties standing about 5'10'' tall and weighing about 175 with a skinny build held up Angelina's. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, light colored mask, dark colored pants, and dark colored gloves as well.

 

The suspect was seen leaving Angelina's up Northunberland Road and is believed to have entered a pick-up truck. 

 

No one was injured in either case and Police suspect the same person robbed both locations. Anyone with information is asked to call the Detective Bureau at 448-9705.

 

The robberies are the 11th and 12th in the last two months.

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A defective brake light led police to finding more than 500 packets of heroin and $1,650 in cash during a traffic stop.

 

State Police say on Thursday at 6 p.m. troopers pulled over a blue Honda sedan on South Street for the defective light. The vehicle took a quick left turn and sped away for several hundred yards. Upon pulling the vehicle over, troopers found 10 packets of heroin on owner Joseph Walker, 42, of Pittsfield and then another 500 packets inside the vehicle, with an estimated value of $20,200.

 

The passenger, Derrick Laforest, 33, of Pittsfield, was found to have $1,640 of cash in his possession. Laforest is also accused of repeatedly threatening a trooper at the Cheshire Barracks. A juvenile female was also in the vehicle and arrested.

 

Laforest was held on $100,000 bail, Walker on $50,000 bail, and the juvenile on $5,000. Laforest and Walker were transported to the Berkshire County House of Correction and the juvenile to an alternative lock up program in Springfield.

 

Laforest is facing charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and witness intimidation. Walker was charges with possession of heroin with intent to distribute - a subsequent offense - conspiracy of violate drug laws and brake light violation. The juvenile was charged with trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate drug laws.