On the morning of Wednesday, July 8, 2020, the Massachusetts Environmental Police responded to a complaint regarding a group of individuals possibly poaching striped bass along the Cape Cod Canal and hiding the catch in a vehicle near the railroad bridge parking area in Buzzards Bay.

Upon arrival to the scene, Officers observed a male carrying a striped bass towards the parking lot. The individual noticed the Officers and ran back towards the Canal, throwing the fish into the water. Officers pursued the individual who was ultimately placed in custody.

A subsequent check of the vehicle revealed three additional striped bass – two of which were over the limit of 35-inches. Furthermore, two of the three fisherman in the group, including the one in custody, did not have a 2020 Saltwater Recreation Fishing permit.

The arrestee was charged with failure to display catch upon demand, possession of over the limit striped bass, and fishing without a saltwater recreation permit. The owner of the vehicle was issued a civil citation for possession of a striped bass larger than 35-inches and fishing without a saltwater recreation permit. Further charges may be pending.

The catch was seized and subsequently donated to the Plymouth Area Coalition.

Striped bass fishermen are reminded that commercial striped bass fishing in the Canal is prohibited. If you are a commercial permit holder fishing recreationally, you are required to also obtain a recreational fishing permit. Persons recreational fishing for striped bass may not retain more than one striped bass and the fish must be a minimum of 28-inches to under 35-inches in length.

On July 3 at around 5:00 p.m. Bridgewater Police responded to a report of two men arguing over wearing a mask at a Walgreens Pharmacy.

The argument spilled into the parking lot when one man, 59-year-old Todd Goulston of Bridgewater allegedly went to his car and grabbed his gun and then pointed it as the unidentified 30-year-old Abington man who he was angry with for not wearing a mask. Goulston then hopped into his car and left the scene.

After identifying the alleged gunman, police went to Goulston’s home, placed him into custody and seized both his license to carry a firearm and his firearms.

Todd Goulston was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

On Tuesday at about 7:10 p.m., Trooper Garrett Hall, a recent graduate of the 85th RTT, and his Field Training Officer Trooper Anthony Lavigne were monitoring trafficking on Route 91 in Greenfield when they stopped a Honda Pilot for motor vehicle violations and an expired temporary New Jersey registration.

Troopers approached the Pilot to notify the operator, NAKITA BRACE, 34 of Bristol, Vt., and her passenger, JERI WALBRIDGE, 54 of Graniteville, Vt., the reason for the stop. Both parties were informed the vehicle would be towed and were asked to step out of the vehicle for an inventory to be performed prior to being towed. As a result of a search of the vehicle troopers located approximately 105 grams of cocaine, Suboxone foil, a bottle of Miralax, and a white wax bag.

BRACE and WALBRIDGE were placed under arrest and transported to State Police Shelburne Falls Barracks.

BRACE was charged with the following offenses:

1. Trafficking Cocaine;
2. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law;
3. Unregistered Motor Vehicle;
4. Marked Lanes Violation; and
5. Motor Vehicle Lights Violation.

WALBRIDGE was charged with the following offenses:
1 Trafficking Cocaine;
2. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law; and
3. Possess Class B.

A bail commissioner was contacted and set bail for BRACE at $1,500.00 and WALBRIDGE at $3,500.00. Both were held at the Franklin County House of Correction pending their arraignment today at Greenfield District Court.

The Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section today added two murder suspects to the Department’s Most Wanted List. The new additions to the list are WITCHAEL NORMIL, 25, wanted for a December homicide in Brockton, and DERELL D. GUY, 34, wanted for a January homicide in Lynn.

WITCHAEL NORMIL

On Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, Brockton Police responded to Shaw Road for a reported shooting and found a male victim, Marshawn Potts, 26, lying in his driveway with fatal gunshot wounds. The investigation by Brockton Police detectives and the State Police Detective Unit for Plymouth County identified WITCHAEL NORMIL, 25, of Milton, as the suspected shooter. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant in Brockton District Court charging NORMIL with murder.

NORMIL has an extensive criminal history, including previous convictions for assault and weapons offenses. He is actively attempting to evade capture and should be considered armed and dangerous.

A wanted poster and supplemental photos of NORMIL are included with this release. He is Black, approximately 5’9” tall and 200 lbs., with a brown eyes and a bald head. He has a scar on his cheek and numerous tattoos on his chest and both arms, including the name “Billy” inside his right upper arm, letters on his right knuckles, a type of crown on his left wrist, a head of a bull (like the Chicago Bull’s logo) on his left shoulder, and various other faces and designs (see accompanying photos).

Anyone who sees WITCHAEL NORMIL or has knowledge of his whereabouts is urged to call the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873) or to call 911.

DERELL D. GUY

Early on the morning of Jan. 4, 2020, Lynn Police responded to a call for shots fired in the area of Howard Street. Responding officers found a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound; the victim, Bryan Omar Mendez, 25, was transported to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Investigation by Lynn Police detectives and the State Police Detective Unit for Essex County resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant from Lynn District Court charging DERELL D. GUY, 34, with murder and armed robbery.

GUY has an extensive criminal history in Massachusetts, including previous convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery. He is also the subject of two other unrelated arrest warrants in Massachusetts for assault vandalism, breaking and entering in the nighttime, and larceny charges. He is actively attempting to evade capture and should be considered armed and dangerous.

A wanted poster and supplemental photos of GUY are included with this release. He is Black, approximately 6’1” with black hair and brown eyes. He has freckles on his face and goes by the nickname “Freckles.” GUY has multiple tattoos on his body, including a demon head flanked by two skulls on his right shoulder and his initials “DG” on his forearm (see accompanying photos).

Anyone who sees DERELL GUY or has knowledge of his whereabouts is urged to call the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873) or to call 911.

By Matt Murphy
State House News Service

One inmate in the Suffolk County House of Correction wanted to know how U.S. Sen. Edward Markey would help former prisoners find reliable transportation to keep appointments with their parole officers.

Another questioned the senator about his position on reparations for slavery.

And yet another asked U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy what he would do if elected to lower the rate of recidivism.

The two Democrats running for U.S. Senate stood before a room of masked inmates in the Suffolk County House of Correction on Tuesday to answer their questions about everything from systemic racism in the criminal justice system to climate change and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on immigration.

Invited by Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, each candidate had over an hour to respond and share their thoughts on how to reform a system that both agreed puts too many people behind bars, and doesn’t do enough to help people before or after they’re incarcerated. The discussion was moderated by Tompkins, who has endorsed Kennedy in the race.

“We are an over-incarcerated society. We have too many people behind bars who shouldn’t be there,” Markey said.

The first-term senator, who is seeking six more years after a long career in Washington, said he and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley had sponsored legislation to make public transit free for people to get to work and appointments, and said he signed on to a Sen. Cory Booker resolution to create a commission to investigate reparations.

And Kennedy blamed Republicans for the stalemate over immigration reform, suggesting that during his early years in Congress there were enough votes for comprehensive reform that would have protected the so-called Dreamers brought to the United States as minors by their parents without documentation.

Republican leaders, Kennedy said, refused to put the bill on the floor for a vote.

“If Mitch McConnell won’t do it, then you have to go out there and make sure Mitch McConnell’s not calling the shots,” Kennedy said, returning to the case for his candidacy that he’s better suited to campaigning for Democrats around the country to flip control of the Senate.

On the issues, however, there wasn’t a lot of daylight between Markey and Kennedy, who both talked about the importance of reaching people with mental health and substance use disorders before they break the law and end up in jail.

Markey discussed with one inmate his support for ending qualified immunity for police officers, and frequently mentioned Booker, a Black senator from New Jersey, as someone he has worked with to sponsor legislation like the Next Step Act, to overhaul sentencing, police tactics and training, and reentry programming.

The two Democrats also agreed with one inmate who said housing is an issue for people returning to the community from prison who often have no choice but to return to the violent neighborhoods and lifestyles that got them in trouble in the first place.

Markey said that to solve the problems of social justice in the court and prison systems the government has to provide more funding for housing that’s affordable and mental health services.

“A vision without funding is a hallucination,” Markey said.

Kennedy also said the federal government needs to look at the minimum wage and tipped wage laws nationwide to make it easier for people to provide for their families and hold on to the housing they have.

“Let’s make sure fewer people come into jails and prisons in the first place,” Kennedy told the inmates about his approach to recidivism and rehabilitation.

Kennedy has criticized Markey during the campaign for his vote for the 1994 crime bill signed by President Bill Clinton that has been blamed for the disproportionate incarceration of people of color through mandatory sentencing for drug crimes and other offenses.

Markey, in turn, has questioned Kennedy’s decision to work for conservative Republican District Attorney Michael O’Keefe on Cape Cod after Harvard University law school.

Kennedy and Markey both said the system of mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines must be revisited.

“It’s been real successful at putting people in jail. It has not been successful at all in mitigating the impact of drugs on our streets. And that needs to change,” Kennedy said.

Voters decide the Democratic contest between Kennedy and Markey on Sept. 1, and Tompkins called it “asininely stupid” that people with felony convictions cannot vote. The prohibition was approved by voters in 2000, by a two to one margin, as part of a constitutional amendment.

But even though some inmates might not be able to vote for either candidates, Markey and Kennedy said their voices are valuable.

“We have to think of you as part of a larger family,” Markey said. “You won’t be here forever. But you’ll be part of our community forever.”

This morning at about 5:18 a.m., troopers assigned to State Police-Dartmouth Barracks responded to a single motor vehicle rollover on Route 195 eastbound, a half mile west of Exit 12 in Dartmouth that resulted in the death of the operator.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Orlando Riley indicates that Ruben Rivera, 23, of East Haven, Conn., was driving a 1996 Toyota Corolla at a speed greater than the posted speed limit in the left travel lane when, for reasons still under investigation, the vehicle swerved to the right and off the roadway into the woodline. The Corolla struck a tree, causing it to roll over, and the victim was ejected. The victim was determined to be deceased at the scene by Dartmouth EMS.

The right travel lane was closed approximately 2 hours.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation with assistance from members of the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services, the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the launch of free COVID-19 testing sites in eight communities from July 10 to August 14 to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The New Bedford free testing details:

This “Stop the Spread” initiative is a data-driven effort to reduce the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities that are above the state average in total cases and positive test rate, and have experienced a decline in testing levels since April. The initiative is being launched in Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Marlborough, and New Bedford. Residents of these communities are urged to take advantage of the availability of these new testing sites, even if they are asymptomatic. While these sites are being launched in these communities, they are open to all residents of the Commonwealth.

“While the Commonwealth has made progress on reducing the overall positive test rate, there are still communities where the number of positive tests is above the average of the rest of the state,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Focusing our efforts to increase testing in these communities will help identify new cases and stop the spread. Residents of these communities, even those who are asymptomatic, are urged to take advantage of these new sites.”

“This initiative will provide widespread testing in easy to access community locations,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “If you live in these communities, please get tested to protect your family, loved ones and neighbors from COVID-19.”

“Increased testing within these communities will help to identify new cases of COVID-19 and break the chains of community transmission,” said COVID-19 Command Center Director & Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “As we move into the summer, we will continue to closely monitor positivity and testing rates across the Commonwealth.”

The population of the cities in which the free testing will be conducted – Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Marlborough, and New Bedford – make up approximately 9% of the Commonwealth’s population, but have seen 27% of the Commonwealth’s positive tests in the last two weeks.

The statewide positive test rate over the past two weeks is approximately 2%, but in these eight communities, 8% of tests have been positive.

Despite the continued elevated spread in these communities, total testing in these communities has declined 39% since the end of April, and the total cases as a percentage of population for these communities is nearly double the state average.

Residents may visit mass.gov/stopthespread to find testing locations.

Residents are reminded that if they test positive for COVID-19, please answer the call when they are contacted by the Community Tracing Collaborative or their local board of health. Also, any individual who needs a safe place to isolate can call (617) 367-5150 to access an isolation and recovery site at no cost.

Massachusetts State Police are investigating a fatal crash on Route 93 northbound between Exits 38 and 39.

Preliminary investigation by Troopers from the State Police-Andover Barracks, assisted by specialty units, suggests the victim, a 43-year-old Tewksbury woman, was struck by a motor vehicle and killed as she was on foot in the right travel lane. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was on foot because she had previously crashed her vehicle, a 2002 Ford Escape, into the woodline to the right of the roadway and walked away from the vehicle.

The vehicle that struck her while she was on foot, a 2004 Honda CRV operated by a 24-year-old Methuen man, remained at the scene.

Troopers responded to the scene at 10:30 p.m. The facts and circumstances of the incident — including why the victim initially went off the road and crashed in the woodline — remain under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.

All lanes have re-opened.

No further information, including the victim’s name, is being released tonight.