ARLINGTON — Fourteen boys accused of spray-painting a swastika and anti-gay slurs on a high school will avoid criminal charges if they participate in a program called restorative justice.
Police say the boys also vandalized equipment inside Arlington High School, damaging fire extinguishers, vending machines, display cases and an emergency defibrillator. The damage was discovered May 2.
Officials say the boys will be offered the chance to participate in a program that gives victims the opportunity to meet with offenders and offer ideas about possible restitution. If the boys decline to participate, they could face criminal prosecution.
DARTMOUTH — Prosecutors say a man hit his dog in the head with a baseball bat because he was angry the animal ate his Burger King Whopper sandwich.
Gregory Ostiguy was held on $5,000 bail after pleading not guilty Monday to animal cruelty.
Officers responded to a Dartmouth street at around 7 p.m. Friday after witnesses reported seeing a man hitting and screaming at a dog in his car.
The 50-year-old Ostiguy, of New Bedford, told officers he was upset because he had worked hard all day and the dog ate his Whopper.
Police took the dog to an animal hospital where it was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The Standard-Times reports that Ostiguy’s lawyer said her client is a former Marine and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
LUDLOW — A Springfield man charged with fatally stabbing his boss at a Ludlow bakery has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Franklin Conza was held without bail at his arraignment Monday in Palmer District Court.
Conza, 47, was arrested after police responded to the Ludlow Central Bakery just before 7 p.m. Friday and found 70-year-old Carlos Santos suffering from multiple stab wounds. He died at the hospital.
Conza, who was being restrained by a bystander, struggled with police before being taken into custody.
Westernmassnews.com reports that Conza was a bakery employee.