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Police & Fire
Central Mass Man Admits To Shooting Victim In Neck; Will Serve 5 Years In Prison: DA Central Mass Man Admits To Shooting Victim In Neck; Will Serve 5 Years In Prison: DA
Central Mass Man Admits To Shooting Victim In Neck; Will Serve 5 Years In Prison: DA A 48-year-old Worcester County man who pleaded guilty to shooting a man in the neck inside a home in November 2022 will serve five years behind bars, authorities announced on Wednesday, Dec. 13.  Yamil Colon Nunez, of Athol, was convicted of the shooting that left a man in the hospital for a week, the Northwestern District Attorney said. Two other people were inside the Pine Street home in Athol during the attack, but they were not harmed.  Nunez was charged with assault and battery by means of a firearm, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious b…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
(UPDATE) Worcester County Man, 76, Killed In Orange Crash ID'd (UPDATE) Worcester County Man, 76, Killed In Orange Crash ID'd
(Update) Worcester County Man, 76, Killed In Orange Crash ID'd Update: Police have identified the man killed in the Thursday, Dec. 7, crash as Charles Beach, of Princeton.  Original: A 76-year-old Worcester County man died Thursday morning, Dec. 7, when his car crashed into a tree in Franklin County.  The Princeton man's car left the road around 10:30 a.m. in Orange near the intersection of Tully and Fryeville Roads, the Northwestern District Attorney said. No other vehicles were involved.  Paramedics rushed him to Athol Memorial Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. Authorities did not release his name as they are noti…

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by Josh Lanier
News
Central Mass Lottery Winner Has Noble Plans For His Payday Central Mass Lottery Winner Has Noble Plans For His Payday
Central Mass Lottery Winner Has Noble Plans For His Payday A Worcester County lottery winner said he wants to put the money he's won to good use by funding his son's education and giving to charities he believes in.  Venkataramanan Balakrishnan, of Shrewsbury, won $25,000 a year for life after he matched the first five numbers on his Season Ticket. They're the same five numbers he's been playing for years.  Balakrishnan chose to take the one-time lump sum payment of $390,000 (before taxes) rather than the annuity.  He said he would use the money on his mortgage, his son's education, and charitable causes. He didn't go into which cha…

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by Josh Lanier
Obituaries
Funeral Set For 'Beloved' Teacher, Worcester Native Killed In Central Mass Wrong-Way Wreck Funeral Set For 'Beloved' Teacher, Worcester Native Killed In Central Mass Wrong-Way Wreck
Funeral Set For 'Beloved' Teacher, Worcester Native Killed In Central Mass Wrong-Way Wreck The superintendent of the school district where a 35-year-old woman who worked has canceled classes on Friday, Dec. 8, so students and staff can attend her funeral.  Connecticut resident Kayla Morey, age 35, of Dayville in Windham County, died Saturday Dec. 2 in Massachusetts when she was involved in a head-on collision in Worcester County.  Related: 'Gifted, Talented' Teacher Killed In Wrong-Way Crash In Webster Police said Jordan Pimentel, age 31, got onto I-395 in Webster, driving north in the southbound lane, and crashed into Morey just after 10:15 p.m. They both di…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Child Porn: Ex-Milford Teacher Admits To Have Thousands Of Images, Videos, Feds Say Child Porn: Ex-Milford Teacher Admits To Have Thousands Of Images, Videos, Feds Say
Child Porn: Ex-Milford Teacher Admits To Have Thousands Of Images, Videos, Feds Say A former Worcester County second-grade teacher pleaded guilty on Monday, Dec. 4, to possession of child pornography, authorities said.  Vincent Kiejzo, 36, faces up to two decades in prison when he is sentenced in April, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Police raided Kiejzo's home in September 2020, where they found a USB drive plugged into a television in his bedroom that contained websites dedicated to child sexual exploitation material as well as more than 6,000 images of the material, the prosecutor said.  Related: Second-Grade Teacher Busted On Child Porn Char…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
'Gifted, Talented' Teacher Killed In Wrong-Way Crash In Central Mass Along With Second Driver 'Gifted, Talented' Teacher Killed In Wrong-Way Crash In Central Mass Along With Second Driver
'Gifted, Talented' Teacher Killed In Wrong-Way Crash In Central Mass Along With Second Driver Two people were killed in a violent head-on collision when a wrong-way driver crashed into oncoming traffic in Massachusetts on I-395, authorities said.  A GMC Sierra truck got onto the highway driving north in the southbound lane in Worcester County just after 10:15 p.m. in the town of Webster and slammed into a Honda CRV in the left lane, Massachusetts State Police said.  Related: Funeral Set For 'Beloved' Teacher, Worcester Native Killed In Webster Wrong-Way Wreck Jordan Pimentel, age 31, of Auburn, who was behind the wheel of the truck, died at the scene, police said.&…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Longtime Central Mass Magician Admits To Smuggling Child Porn Into US: Feds Longtime Central Mass Magician Admits To Smuggling Child Porn Into US: Feds
Longtime Central Mass Magician Admits To Smuggling Child Porn Into US: Feds A Massachusetts man who performed as a children's magician for two decades across New England admitted to having child sexual abuse material and traveling to another country to rape a child, federal authorities said.  Worcester County resident Scott Jameson, age 46, of Sutton, faces decades in prison after he pleaded guilty in federal court to illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of transportation of child pornography, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Action Pour Les Enfants, a Cambodian child-protection group, contacted US federal investigators in Febr…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Boston Woman Starts Fire Inside Westborough Police Station: Officials Boston Woman Starts Fire Inside Westborough Police Station: Officials
Boston Woman Starts Fire Inside Westborough Police Station: Officials A Boston woman was arrested after she allegedly set a clothing donation bin on fire inside the Westborough Police Station in Worcester County over the weekend, authorities announced.  Theresa Abichaker, of West Roxbury, was a passenger in a motor vehicle crash Sunday, Nov. 26, and was taken to the police headquarters at 45 W. Main Street in Westborough, where she was waiting in the lobby for a ride home, officers said.  Surveillance video showed Abichaker set alight a donation bin full of clothing and walk out, police said. The fire activated the building's sprinkler sys…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Routine Traffic Stop Ends With Major Drug, Gun Bust In Central Mass: Police Routine Traffic Stop Ends With Major Drug, Gun Bust In Central Mass: Police
Routine Traffic Stop Ends With Major Drug, Gun Bust In Central Mass: Police A Massachusetts state trooper checking license plates on I-84 in Worcester County didn't know what he had when he spotted a minivan with a revoked registration, but that simple traffic stop spiraled into serious charges for the wanted driver, authorities said.  Jeffrey Bien-Aime, 30, of Brockton, faces a number of charges following the unfortunate traffic stop on Nov. 13, State Police said in a Monday, Nov. 20, release.  The trooper was performing routine license plate checks while on the interstate in Sturbridge when he spotted the van with its bad plates. He followed the car as …

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Woman, 22, Killed In Multi-Car Crash On Mass Turnpike In Central Mass ID'd: Police Woman, 22, Killed In Multi-Car Crash On Mass Turnpike In Central Mass ID'd: Police
Woman, 22, Killed In Multi-Car Crash On Mass Turnpike In Central Mass ID'd: Police A 22-year-old woman died after she was involved in a car crash in Worcester County that sprawled into a multi-car wreck on I-90, authorities said.  Claudia Lukas, of Longmeadow, was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in Grafton after her Subaru and a Kia Sorento collided on I-90 and hit a center guardrail, State Police said. The cars came to a stop in the center of the highway and were hit by an oncoming vehicle.  The crashes caused a secondary wreck between two tractor-trailers and a box truck, authorities said. One of the trucks went through a guardrail and down an embankment. Multi…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
(Update) Is Aaron Pennington Dead? Divers Searching Lake For Man Accused of Killing Wife (Update) Is Aaron Pennington Dead? Divers Searching Lake For Man Accused of Killing Wife
(Update) Is Aaron Pennington Dead? Divers Searching Lake For Man Accused of Killing Wife Update: Police have called off their search for Aaron Pennington on Friday, Oct. 27. They have not found the man.  Original: It's been five days since anyone has seen Aaron Pennington, the 33-year-old Worcester County man accused of killing his wife and mother of his four children on Sunday, Oct. 22, at their home in Gardner. Her family has created a GoFundMe to help provide for those kids.  Police have focused their attention on Camp Collier, where hunters found Pennington's abandoned BMW earlier this week. On Friday, state police announced they've brought dive teams to search&nb…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Husband Accused Of Shooting Wife, Mom of 4, In Central Mass Eludes Capture For 4th Day: DA Husband Accused Of Shooting Wife, Mom of 4, In Central Mass Eludes Capture For 4th Day: DA
Husband Accused Of Shooting Wife, Mom of 4, In Central Mass Eludes Capture For 4th Day: DA It's been four days since a Worcester County mother of four was found shot to death in her bedroom on Sunday, Oct. 25. It's also been four days since her husband was last seen, but police believe they are closing in on him.  Aaron Pennington, 33, is believed to be somewhere in the 400 acres of wood at Camp Collier in Gardner near the Ashburnham border, the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said. The prosecutor filed murder charges against Pennington on Wednesday.  Breanne Pennington was shot in the face on Sunday in her home on Cherry Street in Gardner. Police learn…

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by Josh Lanier