GREENFIELD – The Bernardston man police say took refuge at an abandoned cabin in May following an alleged domestic assault and battery at his home has been ordered held on $50,000 bail ahead of an Oct. 11 pre-trial hearing.
Antonio Peter Candello, 49, was arraigned Friday afternoon in Franklin County Superior Court on charges of kidnapping, intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; assault with a dangerous weapon; a subsequent strangulation or suffocation offense; and three subsequent counts of assault and battery on a family/household member.
Candello was also ordered to have no contact with one particular woman. He is being held at the Franklin County House of Correction.
Isaac Mass, Candello’s defense attorney, formally objected to the court allowing The Recorder to photograph Candello at the arraignment, saying the media coverage could create prejudice among private citizens who may eventually serve as jurors on his client’s trials for the current charges or for a separate charge of rape of a child with force.
Judge Douglas Wilkins denied the request, mentioning that he was not convinced a photograph in the newspaper would “poison the jury pool” against Candello.
Candello was captured by authorities around 9 p.m. on May 14 following an all-day search in the woods on the west side of Route 5, north of central Bernardston.
Candello had been sought by Bernardston and Massachusetts State police since the previous Friday, May 10 after the alleged domestic assault and battery.
State Police believe Candello fled into the woods and cut off his court-ordered ankle monitoring bracelet before taking refuge at an abandoned cabin. He had evaded police in two separate searches earlier on May 14 but was apprehended after State Police got a tip that Candello had been spotted in the woods around Haigis Branch Road, in a cabin that police had checked earlier.
Information from Recorder reporter Max Marcus was used in this report.