At approximately 10:55pm on Thursday night, the New Bedford Police Department responded to reports of “shots fired” somewhere on Acushnet Avenue near Brownell Street.

Upon arrival, police discovered several empty shell casings on the street and sidewalk. No injuries were reported.

At approximately 11:55pm the New Bedford Police Department responded to another report of “shots fired” on Pleasant Street, only an hour after an earlier report of shots fired.

Upon arrival, police noticed a 3-story tenement apartment with several gunshot holes in the second-floor section and a window shot out.

Police report no injured individuals on scene or reported after a preliminary investigation. It is likely that this incident is related to the earlier “shots fired” incident on Acushnet Avenue an hour earlier.

This is an ongoing investigation and more details will be released as they come in.

Carlos Pimental Felix photo.

Video by Carlos Pimental Felix:

The Baker-Polito Administration announced that a settlement has been reached between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit related to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in the spring of 2020.

“The COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home was a terrible tragedy. While we know nothing can bring back those who were lost, we hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to the loved ones of the veterans,” said Governor Charlie Baker.

The agreement is subject to approval by the federal district court for Massachusetts and totals $56 million. The terms of the settlement will cover veterans who lived at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home at any time between March 1, 2020 and June 23, 2020 and who became ill or died from COVID during that period. Former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern will serve as the settlement claims administrator and will make awards to participating claimants based on his review of each claimant’s individual circumstances. Estates of deceased veterans would receive a minimum award of $400,000 and veterans who contracted COVID but survived would receive a minimum of $10,000. The fund will also provide for payment of court approved attorneys’ fees for the plaintiffs.

This settlement, when approved, will resolve all potential claims relating to the outbreak of COVID-19 during the covered period. Claimants will receive further details on the settlement directly from their attorneys and through a court approved process.

Governor Baker plans to file legislation seeking $56 million for the claims fund in the coming weeks.

“There is no amount of money that can compensate our clients for the loss of their loved ones. But our clients are grateful that the Commonwealth has acted to resolve this matter without the need for protracted litigation by agreeing to compensate both the families of those who died of COVID, as well as the veterans who survived. The settlement is fair and just,” said Plaintiffs’ lawyer Tom Lesser.

Since 2020, the Baker-Polito Administration has focused on strengthening the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, and since that time, the Home has passed all required federal inspections. In August 2021, the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke received accreditation from the Joint Commission following the most recent survey of the facility, with no deficiencies cited in the report. The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke is also certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Annual surveys are conducted by the VA to maintain certification. Holyoke received VA certification in 2021 and is awaiting final certification following its 2022 inspection.

‘”Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III today announced that Scot Trudeau, the 47-year-old Worcester man indicted recently for a cold case 2010 New Bedford aggravated rape thanks to the DA’s Untested Rape Kit Initiative, was found dangerous by a Superior Court judge and is being held without bail.

A 30-minute long dangerousness hearing was held on Tuesday before Judge Gregory White in Fall River Superior Court. During that hearing Deputy District Attorney William McCauley argued that the defendant should be found dangerous and held in jail pending trial. Today, Judge White agreed, and issued a brief slip opinion stating that the defendant is a danger to the community and should be detained. The defendant is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on June 14.

“I am very pleased with the court’s ruling in this matter. This was an important step in the process of protecting the public and hopefully bringing justice to a victim who went through the trauma of being raped and the indignity of having to then submit to a rape kit procedure only to then learn more than a decade later that her rape kit was never fully tested,” District Attorney Quinn said. “This case demonstrates why my office undertook the painstaking process of first discovering a massive statewide problem, then finding a way to solve it in Bristol County and finally put that plan into action. If this victim’s rape kit had been fully tested, this defendant would have been arrested seven years ago.”

District Attorney Quinn’s Untested Rape Kit Initiative led to the recent indictment of Mr. Trudeau on charges of Aggravated Rape and Assault and Battery connected to the cold case 2010 rape of a woman in New Bedford.

On March 18 2010, a 23-year-old woman was walking along Coffin Avenue in the north end of New Bedford when she was violently attacked by two men. She was struck in the head and then dragged to a secluded area, where one of the men (this defendant) raped her while the other one held her down. She could not see or identify them because they were wearing hooded sweatshirts. She gave a description of them to the police and was taken to St Luke’s Hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, the victim submitted to a sex assault evidence collection kit (Rape Kit). That kit was one of more than 1,100 from Bristol County alone that was never fully tested by the state lab. However, after our office became aware of the scope and breadth of the problem with untested rape kits in Bristol County and throughout the state, we took action to obtain a federal grant. We then began the painstaking process of inventorying and prioritizing all untested rape kits in our county, and are now in the process of getting all 1,148 previously untested Bristol County rape kits fully tested by a private lab under the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant obtained by District Attorney Quinn in 2019.

In February of 2022, the rape kit connected to this case was tested and resulted in the recovery of a DNA profile, which in turn resulted in a CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) hit to Scot Trudeau, 47, of Worcester. If this victim’s rape kit had been fully tested in 2010, it would have matched to the defendant’s DNA sample provided after his federal conviction in 2015 for child sexual exploitation. Furthermore, if we had not undertaken this initiative and brought this issue to light statewide, the kit would likely never have been fully tested and the case would have remained unsolved. The statute of limitations on this case would have expired in March 2025. We are hopeful that this case will be the first of several to be solved thanks to our initiative.

“I am extremely pleased that our rape kit testing initiative has already resulted in indictments against this defendant for a cold case violent sexual assault committed more than a decade ago in New Bedford. This case demonstrates the importance of fully testing all sexual assault kits. If we did not obtain the grant to have all these kits fully tested, this case never would have been solved and the statute of limitations would have expired,” District Attorney Quinn said. “Victims who have been sexually assaulted have gone through a very traumatic experience and have a right to have these kits fully tested, especially when an assailant cannot be identified.”

Mr. Trudeau is currently on federal probation after serving a federal sentence for attempting to travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

When informed about the indictment and the underlying issues regarding untested rape kits throughout the state, the victim in this case expressed shock about the rape kit never being tested, appreciation to our office for going through this meticulous process to revive her case and many others, and relief that the suspect has now been identified and will be prosecuted.

The revelation that so many rape kits throughout the state were not being fully tested began shortly after a defendant by the name of John Loflin was convicted in late 2013 for the cold case 2002 murder of Marlene Rose in New Bedford. Loflin had previously been charged with a 1997 New Bedford rape, but the case was eventually dismissed after the alleged victim left the country. The alleged victim in that case submitted to a rape kit. That rape kit was sent up to the state lab three weeks after the rape, but unbeknownst to law enforcement, it had never been fully tested. After Marlene Rose was murdered in 2002, DNA evidence was collected and sent to the state lab for testing.

If the 1997 rape kit had been fully tested at the time, the Marlene Rose DNA evidence would have matched to that 1997 case and Loflin would have been arrested in connection to the Marlene Rose homicide. Instead, Loflin was not identified as the murderer of Rose until 2011 when he was arrested in Tennessee on unrelated charges.

Loflin was compelled by Tennessee law to provide a DNA sample as a result of his criminal charges in that state. Once that DNA sample was uploaded to CODIS, it immediately matched with the 2002 DNA evidence connected to the murder of Marlene Rose. Loflin was then charged here in Bristol County with Marlene Rose’s murder and was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison in November of 2013.

After learning about the 1997 rape case and discovering that the rape kit in that case had never been tested, our office began looking into other cold case rapes and attempted to determine whether there were other rape kits that were also not fully tested by the state lab. District Attorney Quinn poured a number of resources and man hours into this review.

After inventorying many rape kits from all 20 of Bristol County’s cities and towns, it began to become clear that there were a great deal of rape kits that were not being fully tested. Our office then researched and applied for the federal SAKI grant. In October of 2018, our office was notified that our grant application was approved and that federal grant money would be awarded. In June of 2019, the federal grant money was deposited into the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office account.

We immediately used that grant money to hire a retired Massachusetts State Police detective to assist staff members in our office with training, inventorying and prioritizing the untested rape kits. Our office is the first District Attorney’s office in the state to undertake this large-scale initiative and obtain the federal grant program.

After numerous delays due to Covid-19 and other issues with the state lab, the first batches of prioritized untested rape kits were sent to a private lab (Bode Laboratories) for testing in April of 2021. Although the testing got off to a slow start, we have been informed that all 1,148 previously untested rape kits will likely be fully tested by the private lab by the end of this year. Our office is optimistic that other cold case sexual assaults and other crimes will be solved as a result of this initiative.

“During the investigation of a cold case homicide we discovered that more than 1,100 rape kits in our county had not been fully tested. This was totally unacceptable, especially for victims, the public and law enforcement who believed these kits were being fully tested. I immediately dedicated office resources so that every rape kit would now be fully tested to help identify perpetrators who had remained uncharged,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I am optimistic there are other cases that will be solved as a result of our rape kit initiative. Our office discovered a major problem, took action and devoted an immense amount of resources to it, and is now in the process of solving it.”’ -Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III.

Proposed Projects Include Renovations to Boys & Girls Club, West Beach Bathhouse.

Mayor Jon Mitchell announced nearly $6 million in proposed funding allocations detailed in the City’s draft FY 2022 Housing & Community Development Action Plan, which is open for public comment.

Proposed allocations include $480,000 for building renovations at the Greater New Bedford Boys & Girls Club and $850,000 in improvements to the West Beach Bathhouse, including handicap accessibility. Additional proposals in the plan include nearly $1.9 million for home investment partnerships, such as the Rental Housing and Neighborhoods First programs.

The draft Action Plan is subject to New Bedford City Council approval and proposes allocations of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provided to support local housing and community development needs. Funds also include existing and anticipated income from City programs, and are allocated through three channels: Community Block Development Grants (CDBG); the HOME Investment Partnership program (HOME); and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG).

“These programs are vital to our neighborhoods, families, and residents who otherwise need housing support,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. “The proposed allocations will strengthen key programs and facilities across the City, and are the product of a thoughtful public input process.”

The draft plan states that: “The primary objective of the CDBG program is to develop viable communities through the provision of decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities. HOME funds are dedicated to preserving and creating affordable housing. ESG supports outreach and shelters for homeless persons, as well as programs that prevent or rapidly re-house individuals and families experiencing homelessness.”

This year’s proposed allocations total $3.8 million in CDBG funding, $1.9 million in HOME funding, and $290,000 in ESG funding.

The City’s Office of Housing and Community Development has held an extensive outreach and local input process in recent months, including two public forums held in January via Zoom, followed by a public comment period in February and March. That process led to the current draft plan, which is scheduled to appear before New Bedford City Council for review at upcoming meetings.

“We look forward to taking up this draft plan at City Council later this month,” City Council President Ian Abreu said. “This Action Plan has direct impacts on all of our neighborhoods and quality of life, and we hope to hear from as many constituents as possible during this comment period.”

“Community Development funding is critical for supporting our neighborhoods and families,” City Councilor Ryan Pereira said. “I’m excited to participate in this public process and listen to the people of New Bedford.”

The current public comment period is open through May 20.

View the draft plan on the Housing and Community Development website, here: https://www.newbedford-ma.gov/housing-community-development

Written comments are encouraged and can be submitted via email to: OHCD@newbedford-ma.gov, or by mail to: Office of Housing and Community Development, 608 Pleasant St., New Bedford MA, 02740.

By Michael P. Norton
State House News Service

With formal sessions winding down for the year, police in Massachusetts are trying to draw attention to what they see as “stalled” bills that would provide state death benefits to first responders who die due to COVID-19 transmission that occurred in the line of duty.

The Violently Injured Police Officers Organization (VIPO) and the New England Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors are calling on Massachusetts to join states like Michigan, Missouri and Ohio that have approved similar bills. In Massachusetts, the bills haven’t progressed beyond the committee level. Citing the Officer Down Memorial Page as their source, the two groups said that at least 760 law enforcement officers nationwide have died of COVID-19 exposure in the line of duty since 2020, including seven in Massachusetts.

“A couple of them have already received federal death benefits, but have yet to receive any state benefits because the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hasn’t done anything to pass legislation support these families,” VIPO cofounder Mario Oliveira, a retired Somerville detective, said. The Public Service Committee in July heard Sen. Michael Moore’s line of duty death benefits bill and rolled it into another bill (H 2650), which is before the House Ways and Means Committee. Another bill (S 1727) would grant benefits to the family of Rutland Police Detective John Songy, who died in May 2020.

“In a few weeks, it will be the second anniversary of Detective John Songy’s death, and his widow, Joanne Songy, is still waiting for state support and benefits,” Oliveira said. “Joanne is working three jobs to make ends meet and to make her mortgage and car payments and other bills that are due.”

The House gave initial approval to the Songy bill in March. It’s now before the House Committee on Bills in Third Reading, chaired by Rep. Denise Garlick. The groups are appealing for lawmakers to act on the bills this week, which is National Police Week, a designation approved by Congress in 1962.

“The Bristol County Tech Rescue Team conducted their monthly training at the Head of Westport yesterday morning. The Bristol County Tech Rescue team is made up of firefighters from across the county, including Westport – which has 3 members on the team.

Shortly after the training concluded the team was dispatched to Rehoboth for a large animal rescue incident. #westportma.” -Westport Fire Department.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

“The Massachusetts State Police Marine Unit would like to remind residents of, and visitors to, Massachusetts about some important water safety tips for the spring season.

The forecast for inland Massachusetts is sunny skies with average temperatures above 80 degrees Thursday through Monday, while temperatures in some Coastal Massachusetts communities are expected to rise above 80 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

Water temperatures are currently around 47 degrees. When extremely cold water temperatures combine with very warm air temperatures, swimmers are susceptible to serious, potentially tragic, problems.

People who dive into very cold water on a very warm day may experience involuntarily inhalation which, in severe instances, can lead to drowning. Additionally, the body’s attempts to regulate temperature can cause rapid onset of fatigue, which can also lead to drowning. Symptoms of cold water shock to watch for include immediate and involuntary gasping, hyperventilation, panic, and vertigo.

Bottom line: people shouldn’t be swimming in the ocean, ponds, or lakes until the water to air temperature gap is decreased. Please enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend, but do so safely.” -Massachusetts State Police.

“Message and announcement from RFD Chief Scott Weigel:

It is with deep regret, we are saddened to announce the passing of former RFD Lieutenant Conrad Slim Bernier at the age of 90.

Lieutenant Bernier’s career in the fire service spanned over 70 years and began at the age of 12, as a junior member of the Acushnet Fire Department. His love for the Fire Service continued as he grew older and in the early 1960’s upon moving to Rochester, Lt. Bernier began his career with the RFD. His committed and dedicated career with the RFD lasted over 50 years. His service to the RFD and to the Rochester Community was unwavering.

Rochester Fire Department photo.

In 2018 Lt. Bernier was honored at the Annual Fathers Day Clambake with a gold-plated fire axe in appreciation and recognition of his many years of service to our community. During his RFD career Lt. Bernier trained and mentored many young Firefighters and EMTs. He loved the Fathers Day Clambakes and missed very few of them, an annual fundraising event that he took a lot of pride in supporting.

Lt. Bernier had a thirst for knowledge and was known to have taken many college courses in his later years.

Lt. Bernier was a US Army Veteran. Following that he worked his entire career as a line serviceman for New England Telephone. He was well known throughout our community for not only his fire service but also as a Blacksmith, a craft that he was well known for not just in Rochester, but also in the neighboring town of Freetown where he founded a Blacksmith program at the Freetown Historical Society. He was a pilot and was well known at the New Bedford Airport. He became a staple at the Rochester Senior Center where he enjoyed attending weekday breakfasts and the camaraderie with his fellow neighbors.

Rochester Fire Department photo.

He was always quick with a smile and always had a story to tell with a lesson to learn. Lt. Bernier was a great department ambassador, a true leader, and a true friend.

Lt. Bernier you will be missed and you will never be forgotten.

Services will be held Friday from 8:00am-9:00am at the Rock Funeral Home in New Bedford followed by a funeral mass at St Rose of Lima Church in Rochester at 10:00am followed by an Interment at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in New Bedford.” -Rochester Fire Department.

“Massachusetts State Police in Millbury responded to a truck fire on Route 495 North in Milford.

The driver kept attempting to go back to get his belongings until a Trooper told him to stop and had him stand behind the cover of a Good Samaritan pickup truck that had pulled over nearby. The fuel tank blew up less than 30 seconds after the Trooper moved him away from the truck.

The fire spread quickly up the rock wall, but Milford and Hopkinton fire were on the scene.

It’s moments like these that remind us how important our members are – they truly save lives in the blink of an eye.” -State Police Association of Massachusetts.

“A Seekonk man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston on charges of child pornography.

Sean J. Trahan, 45, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 126 months in prison and five years of supervised release. On Oct. 19, 2021, Trahan pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of access with intent to view child pornography.

Trahan was convicted following two separate investigations into his child pornography activities. An undercover investigation revealed that Trahan used the dark web to access child pornography in February 2015. In October 2015, Trahan was arrested and charged after a search of his residence revealed images of child pornography on his personal computer. At the time of his arrest, Trahan stated that he had accessed sites containing child pornography.

Trahan was released on conditions, including cell phone monitoring. On Sept. 8, 2021, he was arrested for violating conditions of his release and has remained in custody since then.

In October 2021, Trahan was charged in a superseding Information after a further investigation connected Trahan with a username that posted child pornography in a Kik messenger group. Another search of Trahan’s residence in September 2021 revealed child pornography on Trahan’s tablet.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Winnebago (Wis.) Sherriff’s Office and the Seekonk Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney James D. Herbert of Rollins’ Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.” -Massachusetts Department of Justice.