Robbers allegedly posed as police officers

March 3, 2008

Police were looking for two armed men who allegedly posed as police officers and robbed a home on Broadway last night, according to Sergeant Michael Nee of the Chelsea police. The robbery occurred sometime after 8 but few details were provided. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a white Volkswagen Jetta, police said. No injuries were reported.

Four teens were arrested early yesterday after police found them with 41 cans of spray paint. Police said they spotted Nathaniel Lounder, 17, of Keene, N.H., Alexander Reilly, 18, of Boston, and two 16-year-old juveniles from Maine and New Hampshire, covered in paint and walking down Dartmouth Street in the South End about 3:40 a.m. Because of increased amounts of graffiti in the area, officers stopped the group and noticed paint on their hands and shoes, police said. Officers searched the teens' backpacks and found the cans of spray paint. The officers said they then discovered freshly painted graffiti in the area. The teens were charged with destruction of personal property and damage to property by graffiti, police said. They were to be arraigned today in either Boston Municipal or Juvenile court.

The Coast Guard assisted a five-man fishing crew yesterday after its 80-foot trawler became disabled 30 miles east of Chatham, according to the coastal service. The Boston-based Miss Lindsey II radioed the Coast Guard at 3:15 a.m., after the crew suspected a head gasket had blown in the boat's engine. The Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, based in Boston, arrived at 9:30 a.m. and had the trawler safely in tow about 11 a.m. The crew was expected to arrive in Provincetown late last night or early today. Though wind speeds at the scene reached 30 knots, with water temperature about 40 degrees, the crew was not in any immediate danger, said Scott Backholm, search and rescue controller at the Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England.

Ground will be broken this month for a statue honoring New Hampshire women whose sons and daughters have died in battle. Though a ceremony will be held March 30, the bronze statue is not expected to be erected in downtown Manchester until September. A committee, known as the New Hampshire Gold Star Mothers Memorial Association, still needs to raise about $125,000 for the statue. (AP)

New Hampshire's liquor stores are going green. The state liquor commission says stores will implement a new debit payment system to reduce paper use, give customers $1 discounts for bringing in reusable shopping bags, and recycle 100 percent of their cardboard boxes. Suppliers also will be asked to reduce packaging and require delivery trucks to reduce idling time. (AP)

An autopsy is scheduled today on a man who died in a house fire Saturday. Authorities say the fire started just after 5 p.m. and was brought under control less than 30 minutes later. The state fire marshal's office declined to identify the victim, but a housemate and the victim's son identified him as Keith Slingsby, 80, a retired lobsterman and widower. According to investigators, the home's only smoke detector did not have a battery. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. (AP)

Governor M. Jodi Rell and Mayor John DeStefano of New Haven, political foes who faced off in 2006, are criticizing each other over inmate release policy in Connecticut. DeStefano, the Democratic nominee for governor whom Rell defeated in 2006, said last week that the state should do more to keep former inmates from reoffending. Rell responded with a publicized letter to DeStefano, suggesting he does not understand the policy governing release of inmates. DeStefano's office says about 25 inmates are released in New Haven each week, though some are from out of state. Rell said the state Department of Correction returns former prisoners to their hometowns. (AP)