CONCORD, N.H. — A man has been sentenced in New Hampshire to nearly six years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Alex “Lex” Hernandez, of Lowell, sold the drug in 2016 to someone who was working with law enforcement. That person was recording him.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to three counts of fentanyl distribution in November, after a jury was picked for his trial.
Prosecutors say when police sought to arrest Hernandez at his apartment, they found approximately 500 grams of cocaine and drug preparation equipment. He faces pending charges in Middlesex County on the drug discovery.
BELCHERTOWN — A tow truck driver charged with being a serial rapist has been held without bail pending a hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society.
Arthur Salsbury, of Ware, was held Wednesday after pleading not guilty to multiple rape and assault charges involving four women, one of which dated to 2009.
Authorities say the 41-year-old Salsbury picked up women in Holyoke, sometimes using a tow truck, and drove them to Granby or South Hadley, where he assaulted them.
Police started an investigation in February when a woman came forward to say she had been raped in a Granby park.
Salsbury’s court-appointed attorney argued his client was not a danger who should be granted bail so he could continue working or be placed under house arrest.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to traveling to Rhode Island multiple times to have sex with a 15-year-old girl he met online.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island says 24-year-old Andy Joseph, of Brockton, pleaded guilty this week to two counts of traveling interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Prosecutors say Joseph met the victim in an online forum in June 2016.
In addition to traveling to Rhode Island to meet for sex, authorities say Joseph advertised the victim for commercial sexual purposes online.
Joseph, who has been held since his arrest in December 2016, faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for July 20.
YARMOUTH — A police dog recovering from wounds suffered in a shooting that killed his handler has stopped by his police department for a visit.
The Yarmouth Police Department posted pictures on Facebook from K-9 Nero’s visit on Wednesday, saying it is “very uplifting to see him during these difficult times.”
Officer Sean Gannon was shot and killed April 12 while he and other officers were serving an arrest warrant at a home in Barnstable.
Nero was shot in the face and neck. He was released from a veterinary hospital April 18, the same day as Gannon’s funeral.
The suspect in the case is charged with murder and mistreating or interfering with a police dog. He is being held without bail.
BOSTON — Boston approved a plan Thursday to change the name of Yawkey Way, the street outside Fenway Park named in honor of a former Red Sox owner some have said was racist.
The city’s Public Improvement Commission unanimously approved a proposal by current Red Sox ownership to call the stretch of roadway Jersey Street, which it was originally called before being changed in 1977 to honor Tom Yawkey a year after he died.
The team filed a petition with the commission in February to change the name as part of a mission to “reinforce that Fenway Park is inclusive and welcoming to all.” Yawkey Way is the street Fenway Park is on.
Yawkey owned the Red Sox from 1933 to 1976 and presided over the last franchise in Major League Baseball to field a black player. That was in 1959, more than a decade after Jackie Robinson played for the Dodgers.
Yawkey’s supporters opposed the change, saying the foundation named for him has provided millions of dollars in charitable contributions that have benefited all city residents.
From Associated Press