BOSTON — A man accused of shooting two Massachusetts police officers has been arraigned at a hospital in Boston, and is pleading not guilty.
Twenty-one-year-old Malik Koval will be held without bail until a dangerousness hearing.
He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of disturbing the peace, two counts of assault to murder, two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
The officers, Ryan Moore and Donald DeMiranda, are recovering after the Friday shooting.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe says police returned fire, hitting Koval several times.
Koval’s attorney Ruth McLaughlin didn’t respond to allegations at the hearing. Her request that a dangerousness hearing be postponed until Koval is medically able to participate was granted.
MIDDLEBORO — Police say they have killed a fox that attacked and injured two women in Middleboro.
Police say Tuesday that the fox “was considered a threat” to the public, and has to be tested for rabies.
Crestena Astorga said she was walking in her driveway around 9:45 p.m. Sunday in Middleboro when a fox bit her 11 times.
The woman’s daughter ran toward her screams and hit the fox with a shovel before it ran off.
Police say a second woman was bitten by a fox around 7:10 a.m. Monday at a campground about a half mile away.
Both women were hospitalized for treatment. The animal’s body will be tested by the state lab for diseases.
SPENCER — Police say a drunken father-to-be was arrested at the baby shower for his child’s mother in Spencer.
Authorities responded to a call in Spencer at 8:30 p.m. Sunday for reports of a disturbance and found 31-year-old Steven Ouellette yelling with his father, and at his girlfriend. Ouellette allegedly charged at the officers and eventually had to be subdued with a Taser. Police say he then kicked the police cruiser as he told officers he knew where they lived and would kill them.
Ouellette has been charged with assault and battery on a police officer, two counts of threatening to commit murder and other charges.
Ouellette is held on $2,500 bail after an arraignment Monday, and will return to court in August. It is not clear through court records if he has an attorney.
BARNSTABLE — The district attorney on Cape Cod says a man involved in a deadly weekend crash should not have been released following an earlier drunken driving arrest.
Police say 22-year-old Mickey Rivera had been driving erratically on Route 28 early Saturday before his vehicle slammed head-on into an SUV driven by Kevin Quinn, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine returning from a hospital after visiting with his wife and newborn daughter.
Both men died in the crash. A passenger in Rivera’s car, 24-year-old Jocelyn Goyette, died from her injuries Monday.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe tells The Boston Globe an unidentified prosecutor mistakenly allowed Rivera to be released on personal recognizance after the drunken driving arrest earlier this year.
Rivera, at the time, was out on bail from charges related to a fatal 2015 shooting.
BLANDFORD — The entire four-member police department of a small western Massachusetts town has resigned, citing poor equipment and unsafe working conditions.
Interim Police Chief Roberta Sarnacki and three officers submitted their resignations in a letter to Blandford officials on Monday, effective immediately.
The officers said the town’s police cruisers are in such bad shape they often have to answer calls in their personal vehicles. They said their police radios don’t work in some parts of the town and their poorly fitting bulletproof vests are beyond expiration dates.
State police said Tuesday all 911 calls from Blandford for police assistance are being routed to troopers in Russell.
The officers on the force said they regret leaving the town without coverage, but have no other choice because their own safety has been put at risk.
From Associated Press