A 52-year-old New Bedford man with an extensive history of criminal convictions was sentenced to the maximum allowable jail sentence after being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend on a public street by a jury of his peers in New Bedford District Court this week, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

William E. Reed was convicted of one count of assault and battery on a family or household member. He was sentenced by Judge Sabine Coyne to serve the maximum two-and-a-half-years in the Bristol County House of Corrections.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Charles Schofield offered testimony from Officer Jakub Cwiek. Officer Cwiek testified that on August 15, 2019, at 7:40 PM he responded to a call from another police officer who had been flagged down by a pedestrian in the intersection of County and Windsor Streets in the City of New Bedford. It took Officer Cwiek less than 5 minutes to respond to the intersection after hearing the call. When he arrived on scene, he observed a group of people gathered around a female seated on the curb. Officer Cwiek spoke to the female victim and noted that she had swelling on her head the size of a golf ball, as well as a fresh cut on her lip. The officer also noted that she appeared to be upset and crying when she told him that the defendant, in this case, caused her injuries during an assault on the street.

ADA Schofield also played video surveillance from the scene for the jury. The video first showed the defendant and the victim arguing on County Street. The victim can then be seen turning a corner with the defendant following close behind with his hand reached out towards her. A moment later, the victim can be observed falling backward with the defendant’s hand on her back pack. The defendant could then be observed standing over the victim and raising his arms up repeatedly as though he was about to strike her again. The defendant then began to walk away, but quickly turned around and ran back to where the victim is lying on the ground, and raised his arms as though he was striking her again.

The defendant had previously been convicted in 2016 for assault and battery on this same victim. He also has eight other prior convictions for drugs, breaking and entering cases and shoplifting.

“I am very pleased the jury convicted this defendant of a violent assault on the victim. Unfortunately, this was a difficult case to prosecute because the victim was uncooperative. However, this case once again highlighted the importance of surveillance video, which was critical in obtaining this conviction. The defendant deserved the maximum sentence imposed by the court.”

A 35-year-old Easton heroin trafficker will serve the next two to five years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today.

James Kim pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court on January 6th to indictments charging him with trafficking in excess of 18 grams of heroin and possession of Suboxone.

In the Spring and Summer of 2018, the Easton Police Department received information that the defendant was selling heroin in the area. Police began to surveil the defendant and observed him travel to known drug users residences to make what they believed to be narcotics transactions. In addition, Easton Police conducted three controlled buys of heroin from the defendant using a confidential informant.

Based on the surveillance and the controlled buys, the Easton Police were granted a search warrant for the defendant’s house. When the search warrant was executed, the defendant was attempting to leave his house. He was detained and brought into the residence where the police searched his bedroom. In the bedroom, the police located approximately nine grams of heroin, $1,400 in cash, two Suboxone strips and numerous other prescription pills in a large bottle. In addition, the police located four digital scales, numerous plastic bags, a pill cutter and several hollow cans commonly used to hide narcotics. The police also noted that the defendant’s cell phone was constantly ringing with phone calls and text messages from people who wanted to buy heroin from the defendant.

The defendant was arrested and brought back to the Easton Police Station. During a routine booking process, Easton Police discovered an additional 18 grams of heroin hidden in the defendant’s underwear.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jason Mohan and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Raffi Yessayan.

“I want to thank Easton Police for their thorough investigation that led to the arrest of the defendant for trafficking heroin. Selling heroin, which is usually mixed with Fentanyl, is directly related to the increase in fatal overdoses in our communities,” District Attorney Quinn said.

Due to the expected weather conditions, the overflow will be opened again tonight. All inquiries can be forwarded to Sister Rose House and 1-800-homeless.

All guests should plan to arrive for 6:00pm and the cutoff time will be 8:30pm. Dinner will be served between 6:00pm and 7:30pm and we wrap up between 9:45pm and 10pm.

As a reminder, the overflow will be activated on nights that the temperature is expected to be at 28 degrees or less. If the temperature were to drop below 28 at 4 or 5:00am rather than 7 or 8:00pm as an example, it doesn’t ensure that the overflow would open. All guests are expected to get up at 5:00 am and exit the premises by 6 or 7:00am.

Also, precipitation or snow alone doesn’t ensure that the overflow will open but are taken into consideration coupled with the temperatures. We also view the feel like temps, so as an example if the temperature was expected to be at 30 degrees but the wind-chill coupled with rain or snow presents or “feels like” 25 degrees then the overflow would be activated.

Every year we always have grey area days but we do the best in our judgment to make the right call. On days that we are expected to open an email blast will be sent by 12pm.

Also, 1-800-homeless will notify any callers if the overflow will be open on expected days. This will be our 4th season and with all the challenges at any given time, we are hopeful to continue safe operations and save lives, especially on the coldest nights. We also are looking for extra help, especially if the number of guests expected on any given night reaches 30. We also have 25 guests on the main floor so manpower is very important.

The City of New Bedford Department of City Planning (DCP), with assistance from Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District (SRPEDD), is holding a public meeting on January 14, 2020, for the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Study. Public feedback is needed to shape the City in preparation for the arrival of commuter rail service.

SRPEDD is conducting a study of existing and future conditions for the areas surrounding the North New Bedford (Church Street) and New Bedford (Whales Tooth) platforms. The project team will first evaluate existing conditions and then present findings to the public to gather input through multiple outlets. The project team will then craft recommendations using public input to shape the neighborhoods surrounding future platforms.

The Department of City Planning is holding a public meeting to gather feedback and opinions on existing conditions and desired future development for both locations. Public feedback is needed to shape the City in preparation for the arrival of commuter rail service!

The meeting date and time: Tuesday, January 14, 2020 from 6pm – 8pm at the New Bedford Public Library. The library is located at 613 Pleasant St, New Bedford, MA 02740. Please note that the meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities.

Make sure to visit the project website (www.srpedd.org/New-Bedford-TOD-Study) for more information about the study, to fill out a public survey, to leave a comment, and to connect with the project team.

“My cousin is missing. She left one day (in the middle of the day) and just hasn’t been seen since! Her cell phone is dead and cannot be tracked. We don’t know if she is in danger or not. If seen contact 401-403-1842.” Amy Gill.

“Your Lakeville Firefighters responded to a motor vehicle crash today, just before 1 pm. The crash occurred on Rt. 140 south, in the area of the County Road exit.

The unrestrained lone occupant was transported to the trauma center at Good Samaritan Hospital with what were discovered to be significant injuries.

On duty Lakeville Firefighters received significant support from firefighters called back to duty. Great team effort!” -Lakeville Fire Department.

A 47-year-old Taunton man who indecently assaulted a young intellectually disabled girl in 2017 has been sentenced to serve 12 to 15 years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Christopher Dewhurst pleaded guilty on December 30 in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with one count of assault to rape a person under 16 and three counts of indecent assault and battery on an intellectually disabled person.

On the evening in October 6, 2017, the defendant was taking care of the victim and her siblings while the victim’s mother was having dinner with friends. When the mother arrived back home, she found the defendant naked on a bed with the victim. The mother immediately called the police and the defendant was placed under arrest. During the ensuing investigation, the defendant’s DNA (saliva) was located on the victim’s breast and in her underwear.

In addition to imposing the 12 to 15-year state prison, Judge Debra Squires-Lee also placed the defendant on supervised probation for an additional 10 years. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Thompson.

“The defendant took advantage of his developmentally disabled relative to sexually assault her. This conduct is reprehensible and the lengthy prison sentence was more than justified,” District Attorney Quinn said.

Due to the expected weather conditions, coupled with low feel like temps through the evening, the overflow will be opened again tonight. All inquiries can be forwarded to Sister Rose House and 1-800-homeless.

All guests should plan to arrive for 6:00pm and the cutoff time will be 8:30pm. Dinner will be served between 6:00pm and 7:30pm and we wrap up between 9:45pm and 10pm.

As a reminder, the overflow will be activated on nights that the temperature is expected to be at 28 degrees or less. If the temperature were to drop below 28 at 4 or 5:00am rather than 7 or 8:00pm as an example, it doesn’t ensure that the overflow would open. All guests are expected to get up at 5:00 am and exit the premises by 6 or 7:00am.

Also, precipitation or snow alone doesn’t ensure that the overflow will open but are taken into consideration coupled with the temperatures. We also view the feel like temps, so as an example if the temperature was expected to be at 30 degrees but the wind-chill coupled with rain or snow presents or “feels like” 25 degrees then the overflow would be activated.

Every year we always have grey area days but we do the best in our judgment to make the right call. On days that we are expected to open an email blast will be sent by 12pm.

Also, 1-800-homeless will notify any callers if the overflow will be open on expected days. This will be our 4th season and with all the challenges at any given time, we are hopeful to continue safe operations and save lives, especially on the coldest nights. We also are looking for extra help, especially if the number of guests expected on any given night reaches 30. We also have 25 guests on the main floor so manpower is very important.

The City of New Bedford’s all interested community members to review the Fiscal Year 2020 Community Preservation Act (CPA) applications before the Community Preservation Committee and offer feedback at three community meetings in January.

The application process began in September with Step 1: Eligibility Determination. Eligible applicants were invited to submit Step 2: Project Applications in November. Twenty-one applications seeking more than $3.1 million in CPA funding were received by the deadline. For Fiscal Year 2020, the CPA fund has more than $1.1 million available for eligible projects. The Community Preservation Committee is reviewing the applications and will be conducting the public hearings in order for the applicants to present their projects to the Committee as well as to allow the community to comment in a public setting. Once the Committee has completed its review, the committee will forward its recommendations to the City Council for approval.

All three meetings will be held at the Main Library in the third-floor meeting room at 6:00 p.m. The following project applicants will be heard at the respective meeting dates:

The Community Preservation Act was adopted by New Bedford voters through a ballot question in November 2014. This statewide enabling legislation allows communities to create dedicated funding for: Open Space, Outdoor Recreational Facilities, Historic Preservation, and Affordable Housing activities in the city. Oversight of this process rests with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), the body established by the City to oversee the CPA program in New Bedford.

Since Fiscal Year 2018, the CPC has recommended, and the City Council has approved, nearly $4.2 million in CPA funding to thirty-four eligible projects which have preserved historic resources and open space; created community housing opportunities; and both improved and created recreational facilities throughout the city.

For further information and to read the applications, please visit CPC webpage on the city website at:

http://www.newbedford-ma.gov/planning/community-preservation/, or call the CPA Coordinator at 508.979.1488 or email CPA@NewBedford-MA.gov.

“We are looking for your help to identify this male who had the nerve to take an elderly woman’s wallet from her shopping cart as she turned her back at Walmart here in town.

One of her cards was used at a McDonalds in Plymouth which is where this security footage was obtained. Share away!! He drove away in this Honda Element.”-Fairhaven Police Department.