DA says man was victim of homicide
Suffolk County prosecutors said yesterday that a 25-year-old man found dead in a Chelsea parking lot last weekend died of blunt trauma to the head and was a victim of homicide. David Procopio, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said that Jose Santos of East Boston was found Saturday in a parking lot on the Arlington Street extension, about 50 yards from the base of the Tobin Bridge. Procopio said investigators believe that Santos may have been involved in an argument nearby earlier that day and are asking for assistance from anyone who witnessed it.
BOSTON
Father and son are arrested in drug sting
A father and son from Charlestown were arrested yesterday on drug-trafficking charges in an undercover operation dubbed Operation Patriot, Boston police said. Alton Hanscom, 42, and Mark Hanscom, 19, were arrested after officers entered an apartment on Dunstable Street with a warrant for the father. While there, officers observed a large number of pills in plain view, police said. Police said officers later got a warrant to search the apartment and recovered more than 900 OxyContin pills, one ecstasy pill, $5,600 in cash, and a 1996 Ford Explorer. The arrests were part of an undercover operation by city and county officials after complaints of drug deals occurring in the Charlestown neighborhood, police said. Operation Patriot began six months ago using undercover officers making drug purchases. Both Hanscoms were charged with trafficking more than 200 grams of a Class B substance and are to be arraigned this morning in Charlestown District Court.
Legislators vote to extend simulcasting
The state's racing industry won a temporary victory yesterday when the House and Senate sent Governor Mitt Romney a plan to extend the Dec. 31 expiration date of simulcasting for 90 days. The extension could give the four major racetracks an opportunity to resolve significant differences of opinion over simulcasting rights. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi had said that an agreement over simulcasting is a prerequisite for a House debate and vote on the plan approved by the Senate to add 2,000 slot machines to each of the racing venues. (State House News)
SPRINGFIELD
New trial asked in police shooting
A man serving a prison sentence for armed robbery and the shooting of an off-duty Springfield police officer is asking for a new trial. Fernando Perez, serving 27 1/2 years to 33 years in prison, is arguing that his lawyers should have been told that a key witness received a reward to testify against him. Perez was 17 on Dec. 23, 2000, when he and his uncle, Enrique Abrante, began a series of muggings that ended after they tried to rob Patrolman Carlo Damato. Damato, then 59, testified that he was walking home about 2 a.m. when he was accosted by Perez on a downtown street. When Perez, armed with a handgun, demanded his money, Damato, who was in street clothes, identified himself as a police officer. He said he was shot in the stomach when he reached in his back pocket for his badge. Perez told investigators that he thought Damato was reaching for a gun. A key witness in the trial received a $4,000 reward six months after testifying, said Perez's lawyer, William Korman. Perez's uncle received two consecutive life sentences after his conviction. (AP)
GREENVILLE, N.H.
Pilot has minor injury as plane goes down
A retired airline pilot made an emergency landing yesterday morning in southwestern New Hampshire after his single-engine Cessna lost power seconds after takeoff. Flying alone, Michael Farrey, 69, of Mason, N.H., took off from Mason Airfield and lost power within 2 miles of flight, said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Farrey, who has extensive flight experience, was able to crash-land in a wooded area in neighboring Greenville at around 10:45 a.m. He suffered minor cuts to his hands and was treated at a local hospital. No one else was injured.
PROVIDENCE
Officer's car kills S. Kingstown woman
A woman died after being hit by a car driven by an off-duty Providence police officer, authorities said. Bailey O. Leonard Fritzmeier, 23, was struck early Monday in the city's Federal Hill neighborhood. The South Kingstown woman died later that night. Police identified the driver as Leonel A. Pichs, 29, a three-year veteran of the Providence police force. No criminal charges were expected against Pichs, who told investigators that ''a person just jumped out in front" of the car and ''came out of nowhere," according to a police report. Speed was not a factor in the collision, said Providence police Major Paul Fitzgerald. (AP) 