FIRE ON AVALON STREET
Photo by Bunny Covino
A fire on Avalon Street Tuesday caused some $40,000 in damages and is believed to be caused by electrical malfunctions.
Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, firefighters under Dep. Chief Chris Bright were called to 33 Avalon St. for heavy black smoke coming out of the roof. Fire crews attacked the fire in the attic and put it down within an hour.
Fire Chief Gene Doherty said they believe it was caused by electrical wiring in the attic. One firefighter was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after slipping on some ice.
EXPOSED ON THE AVE
A Boston man was arrested just after the new year chimed in after exposing himself to police on Shirley Avenue.
Around 2:26 a.m. on Jan. 1, police were called to Shirley Avenue for a disturbance at the Las Delicias Colombianas Restaurant. Two men were being escorted out of the establishment by security. Several people were gathering outside in front of the restaurant.
When officers arrived, one of the men being kicked out of the restaurant began to taunt officers. Eventually, he pulled down his pants and exposed himself to police and yelled obscenities. The man was placed under arrest, but was uncooperative and wouldn’t give his name.
Juan David Pineda, 37, of Boston, was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.
PARTY-GOER TASED
An East Boston man was Tased after becoming unruly at a loud house party on Friday, Jan. 1.
Around 4:22 a.m., police were called to a loud house party at 40 Jones Rd. where a large group was present. One person from East Boston began to get belligerent with police and screamed at officers. He violently kicked a motor vehicle and broke a side mirror on the car. Officers approached the man and he refused to comply with verbal commands and was combative. Eventually, officers had to deploy the Taser on the suspect.
Jairo Almeyda, 22, of East Boston, was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of malicious destruction of property under $250.
STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLE
Revere Police arrested an East Boston man for having a stolen car when a companion turned him in last Thursday, Dec. 31.
Around 3 a.m., a woman called police and said she was staying at the Four Points Sheraton on Squire Road. She said she was afraid of the man she was with and that he had a stolen car and warrants.
Officer responded to the hotel and located the man.
They found no female in the room.
The man had one warrant from Brighton and one from Waltham. He was also driving a stolen motor vehicle.
Steven Jill, 40, of East Boston, was charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, number plate violation and two warrants.
TOOLS STOLEN FROM SUFFOLK STABLES
Workers from Suffolk Downs reported that someone stole more than $2,500 worth of tools from the stable area over the Christmas holiday.
Some time between Dec. 24 and 28, someone reported broke into the stables and stole an assortment of tools valued at $2,500.
Police are investigating.
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NOT BREAKING, JUST KNOCKING
Police were called to a residence for a house break just before noon on Wednesday, Dec. 30, that turned out to only be an intoxicated man unsuccessfully trying to knock on the door.
Upon arrival, officers found the Boston man on the porch and he appeared to be under the influence of narcotics. Upon further investigation, the man had three warrants out of Somerville court.
In the end, it was determined that it was not a break, but rather the man was just clumsily knocking on door to the wrong residence.
Steven Dale Thomas, 28, of Boston, was arrested on three warrants.
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FLED AND ARRESTED
A Chelsea man was arrested for allegedly drunk driving after fleeing a party on Dec. 30 after police were called.
Around 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 30, a caller reported that there was an unwanted person in their home at Larkin Street. The man, however, attempted to flee as officers arrived.
Those at the house pointed to a motor vehicle that was simultaneously driving by the home. Police gave chase and pulled the man over, who appeared to be intoxicated.
Johnathan Lopez, 30, of Chelsea, was charged with operating under the influence of liquor, malicious destruction of property over $250, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.
Looking at the Massachusetts State Police data from 2015
Massachusetts State Police have investigated 64 homicides across the state in 2015. State troopers, who investigate homicides in the vast majority of Massachusetts communities with the assistance of local police, have solved 47 of those, for a 73 percent clearance rate. The homicides run the full gamut of circumstances, from outdoor shootings at all times of day or night in urban areas to domestic homicides inside residences and those with a variety of other fact patterns.
State Police have jurisdiction over homicides in every city and town in Massachusetts except for Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield (whose local departments handle their own death investigations). The homicide totals per county were as follow:
- Essex County, 15;
- Middlesex County, 12;
- Plymouth County, 11;
- Bristol County, 9;
- Suffolk County, 5 (not including Boston);
- Worcester County, 4 (not including city of Worcester);
- Cape and Islands, 3;
- Hampden County, 3 (not including Springfield);
- Norfolk County, 2.
Also this past year, State Police detectives responded to 755 fatal suspected heroin overdoses. Official cause of death in these cases is determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, but State Police classify them as suspected heroin overdoses because of evidence found at the scene, including drug paraphernalia, or statements of witnesses who were with the deceased immediately prior to death.
Of the 755 suspected fatal heroin overdoses, 591 victims were male, 164, female. The average age of the victims was approximately 36 years. As with the homicide investigations, state troopers respond to all unattended deaths in every community in Massachusetts except Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield, underlying the fact that the problem of heroin addiction knows no geographic boundaries. State Police narcotics units continued to conduct numerous significant drug interdiction operations throughout the past year, ranging from street-level arrests to long-term investigations that dismantled sophisticated drug trafficking organizations.
Of those 755 suspected overdose deaths, the county breakdown is as follows:
- Middlesex County, 142;
- Essex County, 130;
- Bristol County, 108;
- Plymouth County, 94;
- Norfolk County, 88;
- Worcester County, 68 (not including city of Worcester);
- Cape and Islands, 41;
- Hampden County, 37 (not including Springfield);
- Suffolk County, 23 (not including Boston);
- Hampshire/Franklin Counties, 18;
- Berkshire County, 6 (not including Pittsfield).
Also in 2015, State Police have made 3,865 arrests of drivers operating under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Interdiction of impaired operators has always been a core mission of the State Police. The vast majority of OUI arrests were made by road troopers assigned to 39 barracks across the state, and during sobriety checkpoints held on many weekend nights.
The State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) cleared approximately 4,050 criminal warrants in 2015. Among those were more than 2,760 arrests of wanted suspects, registrations of sex offenders, or locates of suspects in other states. Of the arrests, VFAS troopers have apprehended 45 people on murder warrants this year (including seven in December alone). VFAS troopers have also seized 27 guns and made dozens of narcotics seizures as well.
Some other statistics from 2015 are below:
- The State Police Air Wing has flown 1,306 missions in 2015, including routine patrols, searches for fleeing suspects or missing persons, and overflight support for security at large-scale events and critical incidents;
- The State Police K-9 Section has deployed on 3,113 missions, including tracks of fleeing suspects or missing persons, evidence searches, and patrol and security activities;
- The State Police Underwater Recovery Unit has deployed 240 times, including rescue and recovery dives, evidentiary searches, and security sweeps;
- The State Police Special Tactical Operations Team (STOP Team) deployed for 191 missions, including tactical entries for high risk arrests and search warrants, barricaded armed suspects, and various security operations. The STOP Team also continued its training of local and university police departments throughout Massachusetts in how to respond to active shooter incidents, training 1,489 police personnel from 33 other agencies in 2015.
The missions by the Air Wing, K-9 Section, STOP Team, and Underwater Recovery Unit were in support of State Police incidents and cases and also in support of numerous local police departments.
Additionally, a new class of State Police recruits began intensive physical, academic, and procedural training at the department’s Academy in New Braintree this past fall. The nearly 160 trainees will graduate in April.
“I am extremely proud of the strong work done by the members of the Massachusetts State Police throughout the past year,†stated Col. Richard D. McKeon, superintendent of department. “The men and women of this department worked around the clock, every day and night, to protect the lives, safety and property of everyone who lives, works and travels through our state. I thank them profusely. We embrace our responsibility to do it all over again in 2016.â€
The Department of State Police marked its 150th anniversary in 2015. The agency that would grow into the State Police, the State Constabulary, was established in 1865, several weeks after the end of the Civil War. Many of the department’s first officers were Union Army veterans.
