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Drug addict burglarized and vandalized elderly woman’s home By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Pieces of an elderly woman’s jewelry were found scattered along Russell Road after a city man burglarized and vandalized her home last week. An astute neighbor of the Dana Street house that was robbed, notified police at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday to report seeing a suspicious male at the neighbor’s residence. Nine units responded to the area to search for the suspect and process the crime scene. Despite having two canines–one from Chicopee and one from the Massachusetts State Police–the suspect eluded police at that time. “(The suspect) broke into and completely ransacked and destroyed everything,” Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe said Friday. Police were able to catch up to the suspect approximately 24 hours later when TYLER G. LYTTLE a call for a medical emergency was received at 12:29 p.m. Thursday afternoon. A 23-year-old male had overdosed on heroin. Police secured the home while a search warrant was obtained, according to police logs. Tyler G. Lyttle, 23, of 140 Russell Road, was arrested a few hours later at Baystate Noble Hospital on charges of felony breaking and entering daytime, larceny from building and defacement/vandalizing property. Lyttle was held without right to bail on a previous similar offense when arraigned in Westfield District Court Friday morning. Lyttle had been released on his personal recognizance on March 16 after being arraigned on charges of felony breaking and entering vehicle/boat nighttime and larceny over $250 in Westfield. Assistant District Attorney Magali Montes requested $2,500 cash on the new charges and for bail to be revoked for the breaking and entering charge from March. Lyttle’s attorney, William Lyons, said his client would like to receive treatment for his heroin addiction and requested that Westfield District Judge Philip Contant not revoke Lyttle’s bail, but if he did to set bail at $100 cash for the new charges. Contant said that pretrial detention was necessary until the previous case is heard on May 11. For the new charges, Contant set bail at $500 cash surety. Lyttle allegedly used a bat to both break into the residence and to destroy property with “every room, including the basement, having items broken,” Montes said during Lyttle’s arraignment. “A glass cabinet had all the glass broken out, a potted plant was smashed” along with a lot of other damage, Montes reported. “Multiple parts and pieces of jewelry were found in the See Arrest, Page 5
— RUSSIAN PROVERB.
75 cents
MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 92
“There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.”
Woman convicted in cruelty case By CARL E. HARTDEGEN Correspondent WESTFIELD – A former city woman escaped jail time Thursday after she was found guilty of a charge of cruelty to an animal brought by the city’s animal control officer. Jennifer Gingras, 36, 275 Main St., #402, Holyoke, was found guilty of the felony by Judge Philip Contant after a long delayed bench trial and was sentenced to incarceration for a one year term in the house of correction, suspended, with probation for two years and a host of lesser sanctions, The case began Jan. 24, 2014, after a city resident complained to police that his girlfriend had poured a bottle of bleach on his crated dog, Gigit, a 14-yearold Jack Russell terrier, and left the dog in the crate on his bleach-soaked bedding all day. Westfield Police Officer Luis Morales had responded to the original call and referred the case to Ken Frazer, then the city’s director of animal control operations. GigitFrazer’s investigation found that Gingras and her then boyfriend, Jarrod Clark of Union Street, had “fought many times about the dog and that the dog had bitten Gingras.” He said “every chance she had, she kicked it or molested it in some way”. Clark’s mother, Dianne Patitucci of New York gave a similar account shortly after Frazer filed a criminal complaint against Gingras alleging cruelty to an animal. Patitucci said that shortly after Gingras
Attorney Thomas D. Whitney questions his client, Jennifer Gingras of Holyoke, during her trial on a charge of cruelty to an animal in Westfield District Court last week. In the foreground is the crate in which her boyfriend’s dog was housed when it was doused with bleach. (Photo ©2016 Carl E. Hartdegen)
moved in with her son the previous November she began “a quest to have my son ‘get rid’ of Gigit”. She said that Gingras was abusive to Gigit but said that, in an attempt to mollify her, her son had agreed to keep Gigit in a crate when he was not at home. Gingras had reported that the crated dog had bitten her and Patitucci said that the bite, which caused Gigit to be quarantined, occurred while the dog was in his crate and Gingras had stuck a finger
inside after tormenting him. Gingras was arraigned on the charge in Westfield District Court on June 25, 2014 and released on her personal recognizance. She exercised her option for a jury trial and, in September, a trial date was set for March 16, 2015, but she failed to appear, reporting through her lawyer that she was recovering from a case of pneumonia. Gingras also failed to appear for a trial date on Aug. 19 but came to court on Nov. 17 when she changed her mind about a jury trial, choosing to have the case heard by a judge in a bench trial. Her trial began that day, before Contant, but it was not completed that day and the case was again continued, twice, before the bench trial resumed on Thursday. Then, Gingras vacillated and tendered a plea. She was willing to acknowledge that a case could be presented sufficient to warrant a guilty finding for the crime if Contant would agree to continue the case without a finding with probation. The finding is a frequent outcome for criminal cases which allows a defendant to escape a guilty finding and the criminal record which follows a conviction. Gingras’ lawyer, Thomas D. Whitney of Amherst recounted his client’s many and serious medical issues which included two herniated discs, two miscarriages, possible cervical cancer and an anxiety disorder and said that the plea was tendered because of his client’s “inability” See Convicted, Page 5
‘Dinner Angels’ answer the call By LORI SZEPELAK Staff Writer WESTFIELD – For several months during the winter of 2014-2015, Colleen Cekovsky gave thanks for a core group of volunteers she called her “dinner angels” who ensured she had delicious meals to nourish her and her children, Brandon and Kinley, while her husband, Master Sgt. Christopher Cekovsky, was deployed to Afghanistan. Cekovsky serves in the security forces at Barnes Air National Guard Base. The meals were received in the evening, accompanied by a card or note expressing their support for Cekovsky and her family. The “dinner angels” schedule was the brainchild of Cekovsky’s neighbor Joy Goulette who wanted to help her friend so she wouldn’t feel alone while her husband was deployed. For Goulette, the gesture of recruiting a “network of moms” seemed small but for Cekovsky, the gifts she received were immeasurable. “This was our first deployment to a war zone,” said Cekovsky during an interview Sunday afternoon at her home on Ingersoll Drive. “The beginning was difficult in that the light at the end of the tunnel seemed so far away.” Cekovsky noted that the cards and notes that came with the meals kept her spirits up. “The notes gave me something to look forward to See Dinner Angels, Page 5
The homecoming in April 2015 for Master Sergeant Christopher Cekovsky, joined by his wife Colleen and children, Brandon and Kinley.
Fire causes extensive damage to unoccupied home By CHRISTINE CHARNOSKY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A fire in a vacant home caused extensive damage Sunday night. Westfield Deputy Chief Eric Bishop said the call came in at 8:20 p.m. by a neighbor who reported seeing smoke coming from 150 Western Circle. The house has been primarily vacant for the past two years while the homeowner, David H. Hunt, has been unable to stay in the home. Even though he hasn’t been living there, he was still very upset and The Westfield Fire Department responds to a fire at 150 Western Circle concerned about his belongings and Sunday night. (Photo by Patrick Lurgio the property.
Hunt, a former realtor, said he had kept the gas and electric on for his convenience when he visited the home to maintain the property. A cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, Bishop said. “They started a preliminary investigation,” he said, but the state fire marshal is expected to conduct a more thorough investigation Monday morning. Bishop said a crew would remain overnight to “hold the scene” and make sure the fire doesn’t reignite. He couldn’t give an estimate, but said the damage to the house was “extensive” with a lot of smoke damage plus firefighters had to cut
through the roof for ventilation. A Westfield State University student has been parking his car in Hunt’s driveway, with the homeowner’s permission, but the vehicle was not damaged during the fire. Westfield fire and Westfield police responded to the scene. No injuries were reported. ——— Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at christinec @thewestfieldnewsgroup.com Follow me on Twitter @charnoskyWNG