New Bedford Police hosted a promotional ceremony Friday, Jan. 26 at Keith Middle School to honor the promotions of Lt. Ricard Rezendes to Captain, Sgt. Candido Trinidad to Lieutenant and Officer Jonathan Lagoa to Sergeant.

Capt. Rezendes is a 29-year veteran of the force. He began his career as a recruit in 1989, was promoted to Sergeant in 2000 and to Lieutenant in 2007. He was named an administrative assistance in the chief’s office in 2017.

His honors include a letter of commendation from Thomas Hodgson in 1992 for the arrest of 11 gang members; a lifesaving award for leading individuals to safety from fire on Bentley Street and a thank you from the Southeastern Mass. Portuguese Providers for input on domestic violence issues. He also received the chief’s award for his dedicated service.

Lt. Trinidad is a 14-year veteran of the force. He began his career in 2004, was promoted to Sergeant in 2014, where his assignments including port authority and communications/booking.

He received two certificates of commendation from the city in 2005 for furthering public safety; a thank you in 2005 from the Cove Street Neighborhood Association for family fun day; and a certificate of thanks from Civil Service in 2009.

Sgt. Lagoa is a 12-year veteran of the force. He was honored for outstanding police work in 2008 for arresting a wanted male with a loaded 9 mm handgun and three rounds in the magazine. He was honored in 2014 with an honorable service award after being shot through the arm and into the torso while executing a search warrant for drugs.

Chief Joseph Cordeiro congratulated the three newly promoted officers, whom he described as men of integrity and honor and great assets to the department.

The chief said the key to success is “attitude, attitude, attitude. You need a strong, positive attitude.”

He reminded them of the importance of leading their officers with praise, picking them up when they are down and taking interest in their lives.

“Have high standards for yourself,” he urged the newly promoted officers. “You set the example for everyone else.”

Congressman Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of former United States Attorney General Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy, announced on his Twitter page that he will be delivering the response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech next week. He will be giving the response from Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River.

Congressman Kennedy represents Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District.

From health care to economic justice to civil rights, the Democratic agenda stands in powerful contrast to President Trump’s broken promises to American families. Deeply honored to be chosen to deliver the response to the State of the Union next week. Stay tuned for updates!

— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) January 26, 2018

A 30-year-old New Bedford man who broke into and robbed items from two Rehoboth homes last summer was sentenced to serve five to seven years in state prison this week in Fall River Superior Court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today.

Nathaniel Gibbs pleaded guilty Wednesday to a multi-count indictment, charging him with two counts of breaking entering during the daytime to commit a felony and two counts of larceny from a building.

On June 7, 2017 at 1:20pm, Det. James Casey of Rehoboth PD received information about a suspicious vehicle, a green Toyota Venza, in the driveway of a home on Bay State Road. The person who provided the information to police observed the Toyota Venza back into the driveway of the Bay State Road home with the tailgate up. He also observed the vehicle in the driveway of four other homes in the area. The male driver of the Toyota Venza was seen knocking on the front door of a couple of the residences and going around the back of these homes. Rehoboth Police drove to the Bay State Road home and observed it had just been broken into. Entry was gained by prying open the rear sliding door. Inside the home, a number of dresser drawers were open. Police then began to check the area for the vehicle. Police found the Toyota Venza on Route 118 and attempted to stop it. The vehicle continued to Moulton Street and then eventually stopped back on Bay State Road. Police could see a large flat screen television in the storage area of the vehicle and a pillowcase full of items on the rear passenger seat. The defendant was the operator of the Venza and the sole occupant of car.

Police also checked the other addresses where the defendant had been seen, and determined that a home on Moulton Street had been broken into, and the front door was kicked in. Police then did an inventory of the defendant’s vehicle. Police found a pair of unused latex gloves in the center console. In the rear passenger area, police found a cream colored pillowcase containing an Apple MacBook Pro computer, a wooden box containing jewelry, and an ash tray. In the rear of the vehicle, police found a Vizio flat screen television, a poker kit, a safe, jewelry, headphones, and a New England Patriots pillowcase. All the items seized had been stolen from the two homes.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette and the state prison term was handed down by Judge Renee Dupuis.

“This defendant is a career criminal who likes to break into people’s homes and steal their property. The sentence imposed by the court is the only alternative to protect the public from the defendant,” District Attorney Quinn said.

The Rail to Boston Coalition would like to send a big thank you to the Baker Administration, the SouthCoast Legislative Delegation and MassDOT for actively pursuing a pathway forward that will bring commuter rail service to the Gateway cities of Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford in approximately five years.

Significant progress is being made on obtaining wetlands permits from conservation commissions in the communities impacted by the commuter rail line route through Middleboro that is Phase I of a new approach to expedite service to Southeastern Massachusetts. MassDOT has announced that construction will begin in 2019 on the Middleboro line with a goal of completing the work by the end of 2022. Meanwhile, work continues on the expanded Stoughton route.

There’s another piece of good news. Early in the new year, MassDOT will file an environmental document with detailed information on how wetlands and the environment in general will be protected while the Middleboro line is built. The document will be available to the public and give stakeholders the opportunity to offer their input to MassDOT.

Picture the time when 26 trains a day run between Boston and the Gateway cities, new bi-level cars ensure that all riders have a seat during rush hour, and travel time will likely be shorter than a 90-minute-plus commute to Boston by car. That happy day is coming into ever sharper focus after a hiatus of approximately 60 years.

The Rail to Boston Coalition is the first business-led, private sector collaborative working to reestablish the rail connection to Boston. Our members are regional and statewide organizations that are leaders in their respective fields. We enthusiastically support Phase I as a means of restoring commuter rail to the region sooner rather than later.

We strongly encourage everyone to get involved and voice their support.

Sincerely,
Paul Chasse,

CEO, REALTOR® Association of Southeastern Mass
Chair, Rail-to-Boston Coalition

A Taunton man was sentenced on January 24 in federal court in Boston for the armed kidnapping of a Quincy man and two children.

Malik Bangura, 20, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 17 years in prison and two years of supervised release. In September 2017, Bangura pleaded guilty to kidnapping after being arrested and charged in April 2017. Diego Pires, 23, of Brockton; Sedrick Oliveira, 26, of Stoughton; and Yesenia Diaz, 23, of Brockton were also charged.

On Oct. 8, 2016, at approximately 10:25 p.m., a 30-year-old man was kidnapped from the driveway of his Quincy home after being struck in the head with a revolver as he got out of his truck, and dragged into a nearby sedan. The victim had two children strapped into their car seats in his truck.

Once the victim was in the sedan, two masked perpetrators, later identified as Pires and Bangura, drove the victim’s truck, with the children, to a secluded location where they unloaded approximately 30 pounds of marijuana and $20,000 from the victim’s truck, into the sedan. The victim, who was face-down in the backseat of the sedan at gunpoint, begged for his life and the life of the two children who were still in their car seats in the back of the truck.

Diaz, Bangura, Pires and Oliveira then drove the sedan with the drugs, cash and the victim, from Quincy to Brockton and called the victim’s wife demanding $100,000. Law enforcement officers spotted the sedan as it drove through Brockton, recognized the vehicle from a drive-by shooting that occurred in August 2016, and began to follow it. After the defendants recognized the police, they attempted to flee, but ultimately abandoned the sedan in a Brockton driveway. The victim escaped, flagged down law enforcement officers, and described to them the secluded location where the truck had been disserted. Law enforcement located the truck with the children, who were unharmed.

Diaz was subsequently found standing by the sedan and arrested. She previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Oliveira was arrested on Oct. 10, 2016, in Stoughton and charged in a federal criminal complaint. He pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charge. Pires remained a fugitive until he was apprehended in October 2017. He also pleaded not guilty.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Brockton Police Chief John Crowley; and Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily O. Cannon of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services has awarded two fire safety education grants to the New Bedford Fire Department, benefiting fire prevention education for students and senior citizens.

The Student Awareness Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) program grant was awarded to New Bedford to help educate students in Kindergarten and Grade 3 in New Bedford Public Schools. Since the S.A.F.E. program was implemented statewide in 1995, fire fatalities in persons under the age of 18 have fallen by 72 percent.

Fire safety education has a long history in New Bedford. In fact, the statewide program was modeled after a successful program launched in the early 1990s by New Bedford firefighters to bring fire and life safety education into New Bedford Public Schools. Over the years, there have been many real life examples that have underscored the importance of fire safety education for students. In 2014, two New Bedford students received the Massachusetts Young Hero award for putting into practice the life-saving knowledge and skills they learned from specially trained New Bedford firefighters.

A second grant awarded to the New Bedford Fire Department is aimed at connecting with the city’s senior citizen population. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 20 percent of the population in New Bedford is over the age of 65. This is the third year New Bedford has received this grant award. Through community partnerships and presentations at senior centers and various senior living facilities, New Bedford firefighters are working to make the Senior S.A.F.E. program as successful as its youth counterpart.

“The New Bedford Fire Department looks forward to continuing to work with the New Bedford Public Schools and Council on Aging with these important, educational programs,” said Fire Chief Michael Gomes. “We are committed to fire prevention education, and our trained firefighters enjoy working closely with seniors and students in our community.”

Due to the continued frigid temperatures, the overflow will be opened again tonight. All inquiries can be forwarded to Sister Rose House and 1-800-homeless.

Over 100 Bishop Stang Latin and Art students visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Latin students examined and photographed artifacts in the Roman Art Collection to be used for a future project, while Art students completed an Inspiration Scavenger Hunt, interacting with pieces throughout the museum.

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Bishop Stang High School
Our Mission
Bishop Stang High School is a community rooted in, and dedicated to spreading the message of Jesus Christ as handed down through the teachings of the Catholic Church and the charism of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. A diocesan, co-educational, college preparatory school serving a diverse student population, we are called to holistically educate our students to be spiritually, academically, and socially prepared to meet the demands of higher learning and of life. Providing a disciplined yet nurturing atmosphere that combines academic excellence with Christian values, we educate our students to be people of integrity and global awareness who value a commitment to service.

To learn more about Bishop Stang High School, visit us at www.bishopstang.org , follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BishopStangHS, and find us on Facebook at Bishop Stang High School.

A missing persons report has been filed with New Bedford Police for a 24 year old woman named PENNY GERTRIDGE (CAMPBELL).

Ms. Gertridge was last seen on Sunday, January 21st and heard from on Monday the 22nd. She is driving a silver 2000 Grand Marquis license plate number 5LX777. She told her husband she was heading to her mother’s house in Wareham MA. She was wearing a long black jacket, black yoga pants, brown boots and a beanie like hat. If you have additional information or know the whereabouts of Ms. Gertridge, you should call New Bedford P.D., @ 508-991-6300×79539.

Meet Chris “Gazelle” Arsenault, 30-year-old Morning Show Producer 2.0 and On-Air Personality at Fun107.

Chris has always had a love for music, picking up the saxophone as a child and learning to play 11 other instruments throughout his life. After high school, Chris wanted to get away to find himself, going to Lyndon State College in Vermont.

While there he started out with a major in Meteorology, but during his third year, they opened a Music Business with the Industry program, which immediately sparked his interest. Under the tutelage of one of his professors Joe Gittleman, bass play for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, he soaked in as much information about the music industry that he could. He even had the opportunity to interview the Dropkick Murphy’s as a final project for his degree.

Upon graduating with his bachelor’s degree, he moved back to the area and found himself doing promoting for Fun107. With many years of hard work and dedication, Chris filled in a temporary position on the morning show, which he eventually permanently filled. His love for the Southcoast fuels his desire to put his all into his job at the station as well as his philanthropic endeavors. Not only has he been involved with a partnership with United Way New Bedford in their Holiday Wishes Program, as well as working with Misson 22 and PAACA’s Homeless Count.

“Always stay humble. I want to use my voice here for good.”

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.