Man held in Downtown Crossing assault

BOSTON

A Boston man accused of stabbing a man near the Downtown Crossing MBTA station Thursday was ordered held without bail at his arraignment yesterday, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office. Michael J. Kelsey, 42, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed assault with intent to rob, and possession of a class D substance and ordered held without bail for allegedly violating the terms of a previous probation. Bail was set at $25,000.

A 15-year-old who allegedly fired a shotgun at a group of youths outside Charlestown High School in September was indicted this week as a youthful offender, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office said yesterday. Under the statute, George Walsh could face up to five years in prison and 2 1/2 years in a house of correction if convicted on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and a single count of unlawfully possessing a shotgun, or he could be kept in the custody of the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21.

A Suffolk Superior Court judge agreed yesterday to review a recording of a closed-door session of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board last month to determine whether it violated the state's Open Meeting Law during a debate over removing tolls west of Route 128. Judge Diane Kottmyer gave the authority until Dec. 8 to hand over an edited recording of the 4 1/2-hour meeting. The judge said she would issue a ruling before the authority board's Dec. 20 hearing. If Kottmyer finds the law was broken, she could rescind any decision from the closed-door session.

Former US representative Peter G. Torkildsen announced yesterday that he is seeking to become the next chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party. In a letter to State Committee members, Torkildsen wrote that he would like to continue effective fund-raising and to make changes that would make the party more effective, vowing to be a full-time chairman if elected. The State Committee will choose a new chairman at its meeting in January.

A 49-year-old man was arraigned yesterday morning in Boston Municipal Court in a near-fatal stabbing late Thursday night of a fellow resident at a Montello Street rooming house in Dorchester. The suspect, Nam Nguyen, was charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Bail was set at $75,000, and Nguyen was ordered to return to court Jan. 3. The 22-year-old victim, still hospitalized at Boston Medical Center yesterday afternoon, is expected to survive.

LYNN

Police have arrested one suspect in connection with a counterfeit check and money order scam and are warning area businesses and residents to be wary. Lieutenant Dave Brown, spokesman for the Police Department, said a fraudulent $500 American Express gift check surfaced at Century Bank last month when a customer tried to cash it. A subsequent probe by Lynn detectives and special agents with the Secret Service prompted officials to intercept a Federal Express package from a 30-year-old Lynn man, Lawrence Unegbu, who was arrested Nov. 13 and charged with possession of counterfeit notes and conspiracy. Counterfeit American Express gift checks have surfaced in several states in recent weeks, including Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Washington. American Express does not issue $500 gift checks.

CAMBRIDGE

A Revere man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for his role in a fatal stabbing in Lowell more than five years ago. Thol Leang pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Middlesex Superior Court on Thursday in connection with the death of Karlos Dowdye, 22, in July 2001. He was sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison. Dowdye had parked his car on a narrow street, blocking it, when a vehicle driven by Leang with four male passengers pulled up behind him, authorities said. An argument ensued, and Dowdye was beaten and stabbed, police said. Leang was the last of five defendants sentenced. Two of the men were convicted in 2003 of first-degree murder. Two others pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Leang escaped arrest until December 2004, when he was tracked to Suffield, Conn. (AP)