A driver purposely struck a Massachusetts State Police cruiser during a traffic stop on I-495 Thursday night before taking off, according to police.
Mass. State Police said troopers had stopped a stolen vehicle on I-495 south in Tewksbury. A male d…
Massachusetts
Brazen theft at Newbury Street boutique caught on camera
A Boston store owner is beside herself after she says three thieves came into her boutique on Newbury Street and stole handfuls of clothing.
Cheng Ma, who owns Miss Mia Boutique, says her employee was also threatened with pepper spray.
It was a …
Woman shot in the leg in South Boston
Police are investigating after a woman was shot in the leg in South Boston Thursday night.
Boston police said it happened at W 7th and D streets. The woman’s injuries are not life-threatening.
An investigation is ongoing.
No further det…
2 hurt when SUV plows into Attleboro cannabis dispensary
Two people were taken to the hospital after an SUV smashed through the wall of a cannabis dispensary in Attleboro, Massachusetts on Thursday.
Attleboro Fire Chief Scott Lachance said the Nissan Pathfinder crashed about 15 feet into the Zahara Canna…
When will the River Street Bridge in Hyde Park reopen?
Patience is wearing thin in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, where the River Street Bridge remains closed after state engineers deemed the span too dangerous for cars back in May 2022.
At the time, plans were drafted for repairing and replacing the 141-year-old bridge but creating significant progress hasn’t come easy. The bridge is a major connecting route for Hyde Park, leaving local businesses and commuters in a lurch.
The delays stem from Amtrak electrical wiring that runs underneath the crossing. Construction crews are required to disconnect the power before beginning work, leaving them with just three hours each night to gain ground on the project.
And because the area falls under federal jurisdiction, District 5 Boston City Councilor Enrique Pepen says it’s crucial to create communication at all levels of government.
“It has to go up that high,” said Pepen, “We’re asking permission to tell Amtrak to close the line a little longer.”
Along with several members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, Pepen is sending a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to make that request.
In the meantime, the bridge remains closed to traffic and nightly work continues during those limited windows.
Tracking the last-minute legal maneuvering ahead of the Karen Read murder trial
There continues to be intense public scrutiny surrounding the murder trial of Karen Read, who is accused of killing her police officer boyfriend in 2022, and attorneys on both sides are making their last-minute preparations with the trial set to start in days.
Jury selection starts in Read’s case on April 16 but before that, Judge Beverly Cannone is set to take up nearly 40 motions Friday from prosecutors and the defense – many of them not unexpected in a trial like this one.
“She probably will I think decide them by Tuesday, but she probably has a little bit of leeway until the jury is actually impaneled,” Attorney Katherine Loftus said.
Read is charged with second-degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, who was found unresponsive outside a Canton home on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say she hit O’Keefe with her SUV, while Read and her attorneys say she is being framed amid a massive coverup.
The next big step will be getting a jury impaneled. Some expect as many as 150 potential jurors will be brought to the Dedham courthouse each day. Legal analyst Michael Coyne says seating a jury won’t be easy.
“With what the court has in front of them in selecting an unbiased jury is going to be extraordinarily difficult,” Coyne said.
Newly released court documents may indicate how the defense plans to poke holes in the state’s case at trial, claiming the grand jury was misled while investigators lied about the involvement of certain witnesses – raising reasonable doubt without presenting an alternate theory of the murder. This information came to light after the release of the defense’s argument that Read’s indictment should be thrown out — a motion Cannone has already denied. With the case going to trial, it’s likely that argument will be repurposed.
“I think the defendant will likely try what we call a reasonable doubt defense. They are going to poke holes in the government’s case.” Coyne said.
Loftus doesn’t think Read should take the stand in her own defense.
” I think there are a lot of conflicting statements, and I think if she were to go on the stand, I do not think it will help her,” Loftus said.
The judge will take up those remaining motions Friday morning.
