Sunday, November 20, 2005

State trooper in shooting back on duty

By Milton J. Valencia Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

The state trooper who shot and killed a Fitchburg man after what was called a car chase has returned to work, while the district attorney’s office says the investigation into the shooting continues.

Trooper Thomas Ryan, a state police spokesman, said yesterday that Trooper Donald C. Gray has returned to full duty at the Leominster barracks, where he was stationed at the time of the Nov. 3 shooting of Preston D. Johnson. Trooper Ryan said Trooper Gray was placed on paid administrative leave and that an administrative review began after the shooting, what he called common policy. He said the review is continuing but wouldn’t comment further.

He said that in general, an administrative review begins and “after that a determination is made — on various factors — as to when the trooper will return.” He would not discuss the factors in Trooper Gray’s case.

Trooper Gray’s return and the secrecy of the district attorney’s investigation have frustrated Johnson’s family, who say the death remains a mystery to them, more than a week after Mr. Johnson was buried and close to three weeks after the shooting.

In the meantime, the family complained, allegations that Mr. Johnson drove his vehicle toward a police officer have become official even though District Attorney John J. Conte has said little about the case. A medical examiner wrote in the death certificate that Mr. Johnson was “shot by police while evading arrest and attacking other police officers.” Moreover, while he remained connected to life support after the shooting, Mr. Johnson was charged by the district attorney with two counts of assault with intent to murder, although Mr. Conte hasn’t explained what occurred in the shooting.

“All I know is what I read in the newspapers,” said Joyce Johnson, a sister. She said she hasn’t been contacted by police investigators. She hasn’t even seen her brother’s death certificate. “They ain’t telling me nothing.”

The incident has led to unrest in a community that has had little explanation for the shooting, said Adrian L. Ford, chief administrator at Three Pyramids Inc., a social service agency in Fitchburg. There’s concern, he said, that race may have played a role: Mr. Johnson is black and the trooper is white.

Mr. Conte has said race doesn’t play into his investigation. A Fitchburg officer who witnessed the shooting is black. Still, Mr. Ford has called for an independent investigation.

“It wasn’t a shootout,” said Mr. Ford, who said he had met Mr. Johnson at his agency’s programs. “Preston can’t defend himself. All we’re ever going to get is the version of what the law enforcement people are saying.”

Mr. Ford has invited the entire community, regardless of race, to a candlelight vigil and peace rally at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Rollstone Church parking lot at Snow and Main streets.

Mr. Johnson, 30, of 3 Portland St., Fitchburg, died the day after the shooting, after his family told doctors to disconnect life support. Relatives were told he was brain dead before he even arrived at a Worcester hospital, where he had been taken by Life Flight helicopter from Leominster. He was shot in the back of the head, family members said, and the decision to disconnect machine support was delayed until his mother could arrive from her home in Mississippi. He died soon after.

In the meantime, Mr. Johnson was charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident, negligent driving, failing to stop for police, speeding and other motor vehicle offenses.

Mr. Conte has said little about the case, but a lawyer for the state troopers union said Trooper Gray fired one shot after Mr. Johnson directed his SUV at a Fitchburg police officer.

Timothy M. Burke, legal counsel to the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said Trooper Gray fired to protect a Fitchburg police officer in the line of Mr. Johnson’s SUV, after Mr. Johnson had already driven his car at the trooper.

In the moments before the shooting, he said, Trooper Gray was standing on the driver’s side of Mr. Johnson’s vehicle while the Fitchburg officer stood in front. The police ordered Mr. Johnson to stop but he drove off. Trooper Gray tried to smash the driver’s side window in an attempt to stop Mr. Johnson.

“The suspect then angled the vehicle sharply to his left, made contact with the trooper and was heading toward the Fitchburg officer,” Mr. Burke said. “That’s when the shot was fired.”

Fitchburg Police Chief Edward F. Cronin identified his officer as Douglas Darton, and said the officer has cooperated with investigators as a witness.

Last week, Mr. Conte released a statement saying investigators are looking for the owner of a 1987 to 1990 white or light-colored Toyota Camry with possible damage to its rear left quarter. The car was apparently traveling in the opposite direction at the time the shooting occurred. Mr. Conte has said no one has come forward with information.

The district attorney has yet to say why the police pursuit began. Neighbors have said it appears the SUV eventually stopped on Spruce Street after plowing through bushes and parked cars along the way. A neighbor said Mr. Johnson was slumped over into the passenger’s side of the car after it stopped.

Last week, Theodore Boddie of Beekman Street questioned the announcement that there had been a police chase, saying he saw Mr. Johnson’s vehicle drive slowly by his home.

He said he saw an SUV followed by a state police cruiser and a Fitchburg police SUV. He said the police cars did not have their emergency lights flashing and were traveling slowly, following Mr. Johnson’s vehicle. Minutes later, he heard a car again, and again saw the SUV traveling down Cliff Street.

Mr. Boddie said he then heard tires screeching, followed by a lot of banging, what he attributed to the reported smashing of Mr. Johnson’s SUV into parked cars on Salem and Spruce streets. He said he could not see flashing lights until after the shot was fired, when he could see the lights reflected on a house. He did not hear sirens until the ambulance came. It is not known if Mr. Boddie gave his account to investigators

January 29, 2005

Latest charges put driver behind bars -
Bail is $10,000 for habitual offender
Author: Matthew Bruun Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

LEOMINSTER - A habitual traffic offender whose driver's license was revoked last month was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail yesterday after being arrested for the third time on drunken-driving charges.

Jeffrey J. Sadlowski, 27, of 85 Harvard St., was ordered to return to court on Feb. 17 for a pretrial hearing on charges of driving with a revoked license, a third offense of driving under the influence of alcohol and other offenses. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Leominster District Court.

State Trooper Donald C. Gray's report on the case states a witness saw a red Buick being driven into a snowbank near the state police barracks on Haws Street about 2 a.m. yesterday. The driver then drove the car to the nearby Dunkin' Donuts on Main Street, where it was parked in a handicapped space.

Trooper Gray was in his cruiser and pulling onto Main Street from Route 2 when he heard the police radio transmission about an erratic driver and spotted the vehicle at the doughnut shop.

"Smoke was coming from the front of the Buick," he wrote.

He approached the car and saw two occupants.

"Both the operator and the passenger had red, glassy, bloodshot eyes," Trooper Gray said. The vehicle was registered to the passenger, but Mr. Sadlowski was identified as the driver.

The trooper asked the men if Mr. Sadlowski was the designated driver.

"He and the passenger laughed and said he was," Trooper Gray said.

Mr. Sadlowski failed several field sobriety tests, Trooper Gray added, and became belligerent when placed in handcuffs. Mr. Sadlowski was placed in the back of Trooper Gray's cruiser.

When the trooper was interviewing a witness, he heard a loud bang coming from the cruiser. He said he turned and saw Mr. Sadlowski trying to kick out the rear passenger-side window of the cruiser with both feet. Trooper Gray said he ordered him to stop and Mr. Sadlowski complied. The suspect remained verbally abusive after being taken to the barracks, the trooper wrote.

"He said that if he weren't handcuffed he would take me out," Trooper Gray wrote.

In setting bail, Judge John J. Curran Jr. cited Mr. Sadlowski's lengthy criminal history and the serious nature of the latest offenses.

August 3, 2004

Habitual drunk driver gets 2-1/2-year sentence
Author: Matthew Bruun Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

LEOMINSTER -- A man who pleaded guilty to a sixth offense of drunken driving will spend two and a half years in jail, a judge ordered yesterday.

State police arrested John P. Sawicki, 42, of 49 Central St. last month on the westbound lane of Route 2 in Leominster.

Trooper Donald C. Gray said Mr. Sawicki failed several field sobriety tests after he was pulled over on Abbott Avenue near the highway. Police found open containers of beer in the car, as well as empty cans.

Trooper Gray asked Mr. Sawicki, whose license to drive had been suspended and revoked several times, if he had been drinking.

``Too much,'' Mr. Sawicki said. He later told police he had drunk ``about a six-pack'' before driving that night.

Asked about the license plate affixed to his 1989 Honda Civic that did not match the registration of the car, Mr. Sawicki was dismissive, according to police.

``A plate's a plate,'' he told police. ``They're all the same.''

There was no license plate on the front of the vehicle, according to police.

In Leominster District Court yesterday, Judge Edward J. Reynolds sentenced Mr. Sawicki to two and a half years in jail for a sixth offense of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was credited for the 24 days he had spent in custody awaiting trial.

Mr. Sawicki was also sentenced to a concurrent 10-day jail sentence for attaching a license plate to conceal his identity, along with a concurrent 60-day sentence for driving with a suspended license. He also pleaded guilty to driving an uninsured motor vehicle.

He was found responsible for driving with a missing license plate, failure to stay within marked lanes, driving an unregistered motor vehicle and having alcohol in a motor vehicle.

July 13, 2004

$15,000 bail set on 6th DUI charge
Author: Matthew Bruun Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

LEOMINSTER -- A Central Street man was held on $15,000 cash bail yesterday after pleading not guilty to a sixth charge of drunken driving.

John P. Sawicki, 42, of 49 Central St., was arrested at 7:30 a.m. Saturday while driving in the westbound lanes of Route 2, Trooper Donald C. Gray said in his report.

Trooper Gray said he followed the 1989 Honda Civic as the driver went 40 to 45 mph in the 55 mph zone, swerving between lanes. The car did not have a rear license plate.

He turned on his cruiser's lights and siren and the driver did not pull over. The driver of the car then turned onto Abbott Avenue where he pulled over, Trooper Gray said.

The driver was identified as Mr. Sawicki, whose license had been suspended and revoked ``many times over,'' according to Trooper Gray. The trooper asked Mr. Sawicki where he was coming from.

``He replied, in crude language, something to the effect that he had been having sex with a woman all night and was headed home,'' Trooper Gray wrote. He asked Mr. Sawicki if he had been drinking. ``He said he had been drinking earlier. I asked him how much he had to drink. He replied: `Too much.' ''

Several full and empty beer cans were in view in the car, according to Trooper Gray.

Judge John J. Curran Jr. cited Mr. Sawicki's lengthy criminal record in setting cash bail.

January 28, 2005

Trooper says suspect was drunk

Author: Mary Jo Hill Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

LEOMINSTER - A Leominster man charged with possession of cocaine found during a traffic stop on New Year's Eve must return to court March 17 for a probable cause hearing, according to court records.

Bryan J. Roy, 23, of 460 Prospect St., is charged with driving under the influence of liquor, second offense; trafficking cocaine; possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; possession of cocaine; a marked lanes violation; and a missing registration sticker, according to records.

He was released on $5,000 bail Jan. 4 and was in Leominster District Court yesterday for a pretrial hearing.

State police Trooper Donald Gray gave the following account of the arrest on Dec. 31:

While Trooper Gray was patrolling Route 2 westbound at 3:30 a.m. in Lancaster, he saw a green Ford Explorer traveling ahead of him at an erratic speed and swerving in the lane and across the white fog line.

The trooper noted an expired registration sticker on the rear license plate. After the SUV left the highway at Exit 34 for Harvard Street, the trooper pulled it over.

Mr. Roy was moving around inside the vehicle as if he was trying to conceal something, but denied moving around to the trooper.

His eyes were red and glassy, his speech was slurred and there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, although Mr. Roy denied drinking alcohol before driving.

When asked to get out of the SUV, Mr. Roy swayed and staggered to the rear of the vehicle and appeared nervous. The driver's side door had been left open, and the trooper saw three clear plastic bags in the door's map pocket that appeared to contain large rocks of crack cocaine.

When asked if there was cocaine in the Explorer, Mr. Roy said someone had borrowed his vehicle and it was not his cocaine.

s Mr. Roy put his jacket into the vehicle, the trooper noticed a black camera case on a snow bank about 10 feet from the passenger side of the SUV.

The camera case was not there when the trooper first approached the SUV. When the trooper told Mr. Roy that someone must have dropped a camera, Mr. Roy said, "That's not mine!"

Trooper Gray called for assistance from the Leominster Police Department and conducted a field sobriety test. When asked to recite the alphabet from D to N, Mr. Roy started at E and continued to P.

Mr. Roy would not perform any more sobriety tests and was taken into custody on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of cocaine.

Everything but the camera case was covered in a layer of frost on the snow bank, and inside the case police found two clear plastic bags filled with a large number of smaller clear plastic bags that appeared to contain cocaine.

The total weight of 30 bags of cocaine was about 50 grams.

Mr. Roy continued to say that someone had left cocaine in his vehicle.

January 26, 2005

Briefs

Author: STAFF The Republican (Springfield, MA)

SPRINGFIELD

Troopers honored

State Trooper David Stucenski of the Springfield barracks was honored yesterday in a Waltham ceremony by the Massachusetts chapter of the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers for recording 31 drunken driving arrests last year.

Stucenski and three other troopers were presented the group's "Driving for Life" awards for their enforcement of state laws against operating while intoxicated. Also honored were Sgt. Steven P. Hennigan of the State Police Academy, 18 arrests; Trooper Michael Miskell of Andover, 62 arrests; and Trooper Donald Gray of Leominster, 42 arrests.

 March 14, 2004

Regional Digest

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

COLUMN: REGIONAL DIGEST

Rollover critically injures Fitchburg man

FITCHBURG -- A 44-year-old Fitchburg man was critically injured in a rollover early yesterday morning.

Keith E. Keating of Mount Elam Road was traveling on Route 2 westbound, just beyond Mount Elam Road when his 1992 Honda Accord veered off the road and into the woods about 100 feet.

The single-car accident was reported shortly before 3 a.m. yesterday. The car was lying on the driver's side when a rescue crew arrived. Mr. Keating was alone in the vehicle.

Deputy Fire Chief James J. Belliveau said Mr. Keating had to be extricated from the car. He said the crew used thermal imagers to scan the area around the vehicle ``just to see that nobody had been ejected or crawled out of the car and then passed out.''

Mr. Keating was taken by ambulance to the HealthAlliance, Leominster Hospital Campus, and then by helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center -- University Campus, Worcester, said state Trooper Joseph M. Risteen of the Leominster barracks.

Mr. Keating was listed in critical condition, a nursing supervisor said last night.

State police Trooper Donald Gray, also of the Leominster barracks, is leading the investigation.

Worcester police warn of telephone scam 

March 12, 2004

Baby boy delivered at station -
Hubbardston police welcome newborn
Author: Mary Jo Hill Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

HUBBARDSTON -- With his wife in labor yesterday morning and their baby's head showing as he drove to the hospital, Scot Amidon decided to pull into the police station parking lot and go inside for help.

By the time he came back out, Michelle Amidon had given birth in the front seat of the compact car, with her 4-year-old child in the back seat.

The mother and her new son were doing fine, said Fire Chief Seth A. Knipe, one of the emergency workers who got to the car after the delivery.

``She was wrapping it up as I walked over to the vehicle,'' said police Sgt. Ron Newton, who was coming in for his shift when he found the birth had just taken place.

``She was so calm,'' Sgt. Newton said. ``I think I was more nervous than she was.''

Mr. Amidon also was a bit nervous.

``I offered for him to cut the (umbilical) cord, but he didn't have any interest,'' Chief Knipe said.

``I think he had already experienced enough for his morning,'' Sgt. Newton said.

Mrs. Amidon's labor pains started about 5:30 a.m. and the couple alerted UMass Memorial Medical Center -- Memorial Campus in Worcester, Chief Knipe said.

The Hubbardston couple got their 4-year-old ready to go, and grabbed a suitcase before starting for Worcester, but at the center of town they took a detour into the police station parking lot, Sgt. Newton said.

Mr. Amidon went into the station and dispatcher Ryan Couture asked how far apart the contractions were, Sgt. Newton said.

``The dad said, `The head is showing,' '' Sgt. Newton said.

By the time Mr. Couture went outside with medical equipment from the station and the father reached the car, the town's census count had just gone up by one.

It was 7:06 a.m.

Sgt. Newton was getting to work and went over to the car and started to help. ``I didn't even introduce myself,'' he said.

Firefighter-EMT Troy Casey, who lives next to the station, went over, and police Officer Chris Cornelius came in from patrol on the other side of town. Chief Knipe left his home and took the ambulance over, and state Trooper Donald Gray, who was heading home after his shift had ended, heard the scanner reports and stopped to help by comforting the 4-year-old in the back seat.

Firefighter-EMT Amie Hamel, who is a mother of two, cut the umbilical cord with an assist from Sgt. Newton, who applied a clamp, he said.

``It was a small baby,'' Chief Knipe said, estimating the weight at about six pounds. The due date was today, he said.

Mother and baby were taken by Hubbardston ambulance to the Worcester hospital.

``Mom did all the work,'' Sgt. Newton said. ``I don't want to take any credit for it at all. 

March 23, 2002

Pedestrian given lift accused of stealing car
Author: Christine Guilfoy Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

FITCHBURG -- A pedestrian who allegedly stole a car from a passing motorist who offered him a ride was arraigned in District Court yesterday.

Carl Phillips, 17, of 91 Mack Road, was arrested by state police troopers a short time after the car was reported stolen by the driver, James Clayton, 20, of Ashby. The troopers found Mr. Phillips at the Best Western Royal Hotel & Conference Center, the hotel he had earlier named as his destination.

Trooper Donald C. Gray said he and Trooper Darren Specht went to the hotel around 11 p.m. after hearing a bulletin on the stolen car from the Gardner Police Department. They spotted a 1994 Ford Escort fitting the description, but with license plates belonging to a blue Oldsmobile.

When Mr. Phillips emerged from the hotel, Trooper Gray had a short conversation with him before arresting him. He had a pair of pliers in his pocket, which he had used to remove the plates from the Oldsmobile, Trooper Gray said.

Mr. Clayton told police he had picked up Mr. Phillips, who was walking along the side of the road in Fitchburg, because it was cold and he felt sorry for him. The men stopped at a few places looking for the hotel before stopping at the Colonial Inn on Betty Spring Road, a Gardner police dispatcher said.

When Mr. Clayton got out of the car to ask directions, leaving the keys in the ignition, Mr. Phillips drove off, he told police.

Mr. Phillips was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and illegally attaching plates. During his arraignment in Fitchburg District Court yesterday, he pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. He is due back in court April 16.

Mr. Clayton and his mother picked up the car at the state police barracks in Leominster shortly after it was recovered, Trooper Gray said. 

April 19, 2000

SUSPECT NABBED AFTER FLEEING POLICE
Author: Christine Guilfoy Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

HARVARD -- A Lawrence man who had a gun tucked into his waistband when he was stopped by police on Route 2 yesterday morning was arrested five hours later after running from police into the woods, police said.

Juan A. Ramos, of 635 Haverhill St., Lawrence, was charged with carrying a handgun without a license, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and impeded driving, said state police Trooper Donald C. Gray.

He was arraigned in Clinton District Court yesterday afternoon, and he was ordered held in lieu of $3,000 cash bail. His case was continued until May 2.

Police gave the following account:

Trooper Gray was driving west on Route 2 when, about 12:20 a.m. between the rest area and Jackson Gate, he stopped the vehicle driven by Mr. Ramos. An air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror was partially blocking the driver's view.

As the trooper approached the car, the driver and front seat passenger appeared to be hiding something. When they opened the window, the trooper smelled marijuana. Because Mr. Ramos' eyes appeared bloodshot, the trooper asked him to get out of the car so he could check his sobriety.

As the trooper checked Mr. Ramos for weapons, he felt a handgun tucked in the driver's waistband.

``I could tell it was a gun right away,'' the trooper said. After handing over his license, Mr. Ramos shoved the trooper out of the way and fled into the woods.

About 5 a.m., after an unsuccessful search using police dogs, Trooper Craig Boudreau spotted a man fitting Mr. Ramos' description at a gas station at the rotary at Route 111 and Route 2A. He was detained until Trooper Gray arrived to identify him.

``I had his license in my pocket,'' Trooper Gray said. The gun wasn't immediately recovered.

No charges were brought against Mr. Ramos' passengers.

Trooper Gray said police will stop cars with objects hanging from mirrors that can obstruct the driver's vision. These are usually large objects, such as compact discs, air fresheners or dice, he said.   

September 17, 1996

CONFUSED MOOSE NETTED IN FITCHBURG

Author: Mike Elfland; Telegram & Gazette Staff

FITCHBURG - The urban jungle that four months ago attracted a 2-year-old black bear had another big-game visitor yesterday.

This time it was a moose that found its way to downtown Fitchburg. The 600-pound bull moose, on the verge of breeding season, apparently was dead-set on finding a mate among automobiles and three-deckers.

The 1 1/2-year-old moose, who sauntered down South Street and into downtown sometime before dawn yesterday, eventually settled in the grassy back yard of a Walnut Street tenement. After grazing for a few hours, under the watch of intrigued neighbors, the 7-footer was tranquilized by environmental police and trucked to the western part of Central Massachusetts.

Extracting the sedated moose from the enclosed back yard was no easy matter. The steep stairways on each side of the house, one of which the moose somehow had used to get into the yard, proved too narrow for the eight men carrying the bulky animal to navigate.

In a dramatic scene, a 35-foot crane, summoned from a nearby building-supply company, lifted the moose from the top of one of the stairways and slowly lowered it to the bed of a state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife truck. The moose, its legs strapped together, was suspended from the crane in a net.

Neighbors, some with video cameras, recognized the crane operator's tricky maneuver with a round of applause.

"It's the beginning of breeding season; they're looking for females and expanding their territory," said man vs. moose authority David P. Fuller, a game manager for Fisheries and Wildlife, Central District. He fired two tranquilizer darts into the moose, and added more drugs by syringe after the groggy animal toppled.

The moose-breeding season, or rut, is just under way, Fuller said. "You have a lot of young moose dispersing out into new areas and into areas that they're not familiar with," he said. "Along the way, they get tangled up in urban areas and can't find their way out."

Environmental Police Lt. David W. Williams, one of the first on the scene yesterday, believes the moose strayed from the area of Notown Reservoir, about three miles from downtown Fitchburg.

In May, Williams helped capture a well-traveled black bear near Moran Square. The bear, seen the night before on John Fitch Highway and days earlier in Lunenburg, was tranquilized as he ate doughnuts and muffins in the back yard of a Lunenburg Street homeless shelter. Police used the pastry to bide time as they waited for environmental police.

Williams said the bear likely ventured south from Ashby or New Hampshire.

Forays into civilization by bear and moose have become more common as the population of each animal has grown, he said.

REPORTS TO POLICE

Reported sightings of the moose along South Street flowed into the police station through the early morning. South Street connects downtown Fitchburg and Route 2 near Notown Reservoir.

A 5 a.m. coffee run for Michael Ouellette of Water Street proved a real eye-opener. He spotted the moose at Laurel and South streets.

"I followed it a bit up South Street," he said. "It started trotting. It turned onto Nashua (Street) and I kept behind it. Then it went into someone's back yard, and I thought about calling the police, but I figured someone would wake up and see it in their back yard."

The moose settled in the 30-foot-by-30-foot back yard at 18-20 Walnut St. The yard, with foot-high grass and bordered by stockade fencing, is accessible only by the two stairways.

For two hours, with the area blocked off by police, the seemingly content moose grazed, occasionally offering a deep stare toward people jockeying for a closer look.

FELT SAFE

"This was a spot where he was comfortable; he was trying to get to an area where he felt safe," Fuller said of the animal's stay in the enclosed back yard.

Fuller took about an hour to tranquilize the moose. He waited several minutes between injections, trying to avoid fatal dosage levels while administering enough to keep the animal sedated for transportation.

Twice the moose dropped to the ground and regained its feet, staggering around the yard. After the moose fell a final time and Fuller was satisfied with the sedation, the animal was wrapped in a net.

Fuller and a handful of helpers, including Fitchburg Patrolman Stanley R. Young, state Trooper Donald C. Gray and Fisheries and Wildlife employees Robert Chapin and Paul Laboeuf, carried the moose the short distance to the top of one stairway.

A crane from Pelletier's Building Supply Co., across the Nashua River from the Walnut Street tenement, conveyed the moose from the yard. The crane was operated by Kenneth Normandin.

Nashua Street resident Lisa Watson watched the moose capture from the second floor of her apartment building. She learned of the surprise visitor after going outside to quiet her barking dog.

"He was barking like he's never barked before," she said.

Trooper who sent white powder in bill won't be charged: Substance was not hazardous
By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff
Friday, December 2, 2005

BELLINGHAM -- The resident whose water bill payment contained a suspicious white powder that tested negative for harmful substances will not be charged, Worcester County District Attorney John Conte's office said yesterday.

The bill came from the home of a state trooper, Police Chief Gerard Daigle confirmed. The Daily News is not identifying the trooper to avoid jeopardizing any of his or her work, described as undercover by state police officials.

"There will be no charges," said Conte spokeswoman Karen Foley. "It was a minute amount. It was tested as a harmless substance."

Conte's decision came two days after a Bellingham Town Hall employee discovered white powder inside a water bill payment.

Firefighters responded in hazardous-material suits and temporarily cleared the office while the envelope was sent to the state police crime lab in Sudbury for immediate testing.

Along with testing negative for harmful drugs or substances, the powder could not be identified by the lab, said Lt. Sharon Costine, a state police spokeswoman. "We couldn't find a substance," she said.

Town officials confirmed yesterday there was a small amount of powder in the envelope and police said they believe it was a misunderstanding.

"I'm all set with this because I don't see any intent to scare or do anything with these people," Daigle said. He added the trooper's spouse sent the bill.

Police moved quickly to test the substance out of concern for the three employees exposed to it, Daigle said. Knowing now the material was safe, Daigle said it could have come from a wide range of places.

"It could have been anything, from the kitchen, from the inside of the envelope as it was being made," he said.


Staff writer Rick Holland contributed to this story. Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or swithee@cnccom.