Taunton Police, State Police detectives assigned to this office and homicide unit prosecutors are currently investigating a homicide, which occurred in the City of Taunton late Monday night.

Police received a call Monday night around 11:40 p.m. regarding a man being struck by a CSX transportation train in the area behind 37 Cushman Street. The victim, later identified as Edwin Rivera Jr., 24, of Taunton, was transported Tuesday to Boston for an Autopsy at the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

The autopsy has concluded that Mr. Rivera died as a result of gunshot wounds.

Although the case did not officially become a homicide until yesterday, investigators have been actively probing the death since first arriving at the scene of the train incident.

As a result of this ongoing investigation, police have arrested an individual connected to the homicide. Flavio Daveiga, 21, of 15 Newcombe Place, was arrested today, and within the past hour has been charged with accessory to murder before the fact and the obstruction of justice portion of the witness intimidation statute.

Mr. Daveiga was arraigned in Taunton District Court moments ago and ordered held on $2 million cash bail. He also had his bail revoked on four open cases, meaning even if he does post the $2 million cash bail, he would still be held without bail for up to 60 days. The defendant is due back in court for appointment of counsel on December 3rd.

Because the investigation remains active and ongoing, our office will be unable to comment further on specifics of the case at this time. If more arrests are made or more charges are lodged, this office will send out a follow up press release.

The investigation is being coordinated by Co-First Assistant District Attorney William McCauley and Assistant District Attorney Stephen Nadeau, who will be handling this afternoon’s arraignment.

At a meeting of the Painters and Allied Trades Union in Downtown New Bedford, Mayor Jon Mitchell and Wind Energy Center Director Matthew Morrissey were each presented with the George W. Ripley II Memorial Award in recognition of their contributions to building “working relations between labor and management” and for pursuing “true economic development that improves the living and working conditions of communities throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.”

“We wanted to recognize the Mayor and Matthew Morrissey for their leadership in developing a new industry in southeastern Massachusetts and the state which will benefit the working men and women of this region. We all know that we have a long way to go, but it takes a forward thinking approach, like Mayor Mitchell’s, to bring a project of this magnitude to fruition. His support of the project labor agreement on the South Terminal Project and of the building trades more generally has been outstanding,” said David Araujo, the president of the Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Islands Building Trades union.

“I am honored to receive the George W. Ripley II Memorial Award. Job creation has been the top priority for my administration and it will continue to be so long as I am mayor. The offshore wind industry in particular offers an opportunity to build the city and the region’s economic base like none other we have seen in the last century or so. I am pleased to have worked with the unions to support the project labor agreement and I look forward to the point in time when the jobs associated with the project become available,” said Mayor Mitchell.

Director of the New Bedford Wind Energy Center, Matthew Morrissey remarked, “I am deeply grateful to have been selected for this recognition, especially because I have known several past recipients and their significant achievements. It is truly an honor. The project labor agreement between the state, building trades and the contractor on the construction of the New Bedford marine commerce terminal is only the beginning of what can be a period of real union membership increases for good paying job opportunities in the trades for New Bedford residents.”

District Attorney Sam Sutter and New Bedford Police Chief David Provencher announced tonight that a 25-year-old New Bedford man has been arrested and charged with the weekend slaying of 31-year-old Sharone Stafford.

Police tonight apprehended Hailton DaCosta, 25, of 85 Mosher Street. Mr. DaCosta was arrested without incident at a location on Water Street in New Bedford. Mr. DaCosta is charged with murder, armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. He will be arraigned in New Bedford District Court Wednesday morning.

Two other men arrested by police during the overnight hours Monday morning in connection to the weekend homicide were arraigned Monday afternoon.

Elito Mendes, 21, of 211 County Street, who is charged with accessory to murder after the fact, carrying an illegal firearm, armed robbery, and the obstruction of justice portion of the witness intimidation statute, was ordered held on $150,000 cash bail. He is due back in court December 20th for a probable cause hearing.

Samir Baptista, 27, of 115 Norwell Street, who is charged with accessory to murder before the fact, was ordered held without bail during his arraignment and is due back in court December 12th for a pretrial hearing.

Due to the ongoing nature of the homicide investigation, Judge Bernadette Sabra ordered all documents associated with the case impounded. By virtue of that order, our office will not be able to comment any further on the facts of the case at this time.

Police received calls reporting gunshots in the area of Winsor and Crapo streets around 11:45 Saturday night. Upon arrival at the scene, police and rescue personnel located a male victim lying in the street on Winsor Street, near where it intersects with Crapo Street. The male victim was later identified as Sharone Stafford, 31, of New Bedford.

Mr. Stafford was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Sunday morning.

Original report here: http://www.newbedfordguide.com/two-men-arrested-for-saturday-night-shooting-death/2013/11/25

Last Tuesday, the state senate voted to increase the minimum wage from $8 to $11 an hour by the year 2016. The bill passed by a 32-7 vote and still has to pass the Massachusetts House of Representatives and be signed by Governor Deval Patrick.

Here is what to expect if this bill is signed into law:

1. Starting in July of 2014, the minimum wage would go up from $8 to $11 by 2016.

2. Massachusetts will always be $0.50 cents higher than the national average.

3. The wage for tipped employees would increase under this bill to half the minimum for hourly workers. Currently, the rate in Massachusetts is $2.63.  This would go to $4 an hour and eventually to $5.50 an hour by 2016.

4. This rate would ensure Massachusetts has the highest minimum wage in America. According to CNN, Washington currently has the highest minimum wage at $9.19 per hour.

5. The minimum wage is tied to inflation and be linked to the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast.

6. Those who oppose the bill state that businesses will pass the increased cost on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Bob Luz the CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association states that tipped employees already make $13.13 per hour and predicts that menu prices will go up 15% due to this increase. Other negative affects would be a cut to worker benefits, less part-time jobs coming available and this would not help attracting new businesses to Massachusetts.

7. Proponents state that there hasn’t been a raise to the minimum wage in MA since 2008 and it is NOT tied to inflation. It is extremely difficult to live on $8 an hour in Massachusetts. There is a move to put this minimum wage increase onto the November 2014 ballot if it doesn’t get signed into law.

Two men arrested during the overnight hours in connection to the late Saturday night homicide of 31-year-old Sharone Stafford in New Bedford. Both men were arraigned in New Bedford District Court on Monday, November 25th.

Elito Mendes is charged with carrying an illegal firearm, armed robbery, and the obstruction of justice portion of the witness intimidation statute. He has plead NOT GUILTY and will be held on $150,000 cash bail or $1.5 million with surety. 

Samir Baptista is presently charged with accessory to murder before the fact and is being held without bail. He has pleased NOT GUILTY. 

Because the investigation is still extremely active and ongoing, the District Attorney’s office will not be able to provide any further information on the facts of the case until the probe has been closed.

Police received calls reporting gunshots in the area of Winsor and Crapo streets around 11:45 Saturday night. Upon arrival at the scene, police and rescue personnel located a male victim lying in the street on Winsor Street, near where it intersects with Crapo Street. The male victim was later identified as Sharone Stafford, 31, of New Bedford.

Mr. Stafford was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Sunday morning.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office has taken custody of the deceased and will be perform an autopsy to determine an exact cause and manner of death. UPDATE: The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be a homicide. 

Assistant District Attorney Dennis Collins will be handling the arraignments today in New Bedford District Court.

In an effort to encourage everyone to do their holiday shopping in New Bedford, the City is offering a special Holiday Parking Program. Effective Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2013 through Wednesday, January 1, 2014, the City of New Bedford will offer FREE 2-hour parking at metered spaces in both the Downtown and on Acushnet Avenue and 2-hour FREE parking at the Elm Street Garage, and the Zeiterion Garage!

“We are pleased to again offer the holiday parking program to encourage area residents to shop local. New Bedford is home to many fine galleries, shops, and restaurants and I invite everyone to help support our local small businesses by doing their holiday shopping in our city,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Anyone parked at a meter in either the Downtown or on Acushnet Avenue while doing holiday shopping who receives a ticket as a result of parking in excess of the 2-hour limit, may mail or present their ticket along with a copy of a sales receipt for $10.00 or more from a Downtown or North End Business District restaurant/merchant to the City of New Bedford Traffic Commission Office. The parking ticket will be forgiven with the presentation of the same day receipt.

The Traffic Commission Office is located at 51 Elm Street and is open from Monday through Thursday from 8:00am to 5:00pm and Friday from 8:00am to 12:00pm (noon). Questions regarding the Holiday Parking Program should be directed to the Traffic Commission Office at (508) 961-3153.

Recently, a New Bedford resident received a call from a person claiming to be from the IRS. He was told that if he didn’t pay an outstanding debt, the New Bedford Police were in possession of a warrant for his arrest and would come get him.

Shortly thereafter, he received a second call from a person claiming to be a police officer and that if he didn’t pay the debt he would be arrested.

He was given the “direct” number to the phony IRS agent and was told that he needed to immediately obtain Money Pak cards and activate them and give him the numbers on the back of the cards. As a result of this conned transaction, the victim is out an undisclosed amount of money.

The legitimate phone numbers of the IRS and the New Bedford Police Dept. were “spoofed” to come up on his caller ID.

Tip#1- Debt collection is a civil process. Police departments are not involved in civil processes not even with other government agencies.

Tip#2- Although money cards can be convenient in some transactions, they are not the safest way to handle day to day business.

The public should be cautious of anyone insisting on this being the only way of payment.

Anyone falling victim to this, or any similar scam, is asked to contact Det. Greg Sirois at 508-991-6300 ext. 137.

This account is from the New Bedford Police Department. This morning at approximately 8:40am a female went to her boyfriend’s house to retrieve some clothing. He verbally threatened and shoved her. She then called police for assistance. Upon arrival at address on Austin Ct., officers learned that the male half of the domestic dispute had a shotgun in the apartment.

He refused to come out and speak with police. A crisis negotiator was called to the scene and began a dialogue with the suspect. After a short time, the suspect came out and turned himself in to police without further incident. Inside the apartment officers found the following loaded firearms;

Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun
Luger 9MM handgun
Glock 9MM handgun
Smith and Wesson 9MM handgun (serial numbers obliterated)

The suspect does not possess a license to carry firearms and he will be arraigned later today in New Bedford District Ct. Detectives are in the process of determining the origin of the firearms.

Suspect faces the following charges:

Assault and Battery on a household member
Improper storage of a firearm
3 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm
1 count of unlawful possession of a shotgun
Unlawful possession of ammunition
Possession of a firearm with obliterated serial numbers

In recent years we’ve pointed out how the parking ticket revenue increased significantly since 2006. From an article I produced last year: “…the city raised over $1.2 million from parking tickets and  fees  during the fiscal year that ends June 30. In fiscal 2011, the city raised $1 million, up from $685,092 in 2010 and $276,380 in 2006.”

The increase in parking ticket revenue was significant and translated into is a four-fold increase from 2006 ($276,380) to 2012 ($1.2 million). This can be attributed to Mayor Lang as he served as New Bedford’s mayor from 2006 – 2012.

The most recent parking ticket revenue for fiscal year 2013 is $978,000, down 29% from $1,264,000 in 2012. According to the mayor’s office, these numbers do not include revenues from the parking fees people pay at the two garages or at parking meters. It’s strictly parking ticket revue. While these numbers are still significantly higher than the 2006 numbers, it does show that Mayor Mitchell has been less aggressive than Mayor Lang on parking tickets. This is marks the first decline in parking ticket revenue since 2006.

According to the Mayor’s office, there are several factors. There was less focus on neighborhood parking related issues last year and more monitoring at State Pier, the hospital area, and the beaches.

On October 23rd 2013, I was at Market Basket in New Bedford when a very nice, caring young lady approached my vehicle. She had seen the shelter sign on the side of my car. She told me she had seen a very skinny cat with a hurt leg at the dumpster. I followed her to McDonalds and sure enough there was a very thin cat with a hurt leg. I took the cat to the vet. She was estimated to be only 7 months old and was severely emaciated. I was told she would not have made it through the cold weather.

Now named McDonalds (I know funny name for a female cat). She is improving day by day, no longer vomiting and is maintaining small bits of food. She has gained weight slowly, although you wouldn’t think so if you saw her. She still has a little limp but her muscle strength is improving. She is now climbing a cat post and playing with toys. She is doing VERY well and is very happy being indoors, in a very warm shelter, on fluffy blankets.

Thank you to all those who have shared McDonalds’ story and to the kind, young lady who helped save her life by approaching me.

To help us in supporting McDonalds’ ongoing care and to help us save cats like McDonalds, please consider donating to our cat shelter. As a non-profit 501c3, we solely rely on generosity and donations from the public.

Sincerely,

Pam Robinson
President/Founder
It’s All About the Animals
103 Marion Rd.
Rochester MA 02770
(508)-763-2035
www.itsallabouttheanimalsinc.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-All-About-The-Animals-Inc/283871911634882