Police, Fire & Courts

Heroux rounding up state support for possible Ash Street closure

A little more than a week after announcing a $10 million plan to close New Bedford’s Ash Street jail and retrofit Dartmouth’s former ICE facility for inmate housing , Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux is hoping to refurbish a different existing...

Police request middle school parents stage on Hawthorne Street

The police department’s traffic safety division is asking parents dropping their kids off at Dartmouth Middle Schools to no longer stage on Slocum Road south of Hawthorne Street. The request comes as police say traffic supervisors have been dealing...
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Firefighters test their identification skills, efficiency at training session

When tackling a blaze inside of a building, the ability to identify the length of a lug along a coupling on a fire hose could mean the difference of heading toward safety or further into a fire for first responders. “You always want to make sure you...

Dartmouth Mall murderer granted parole

A man sentenced to life in prison for the 1991 murder at the Dartmouth Mall parking lot will be released next year, according to a Jan. 18 decision from the Massachusetts Parole Board. Charles Chase III was convicted in 1993 for second degree murder...

District 3 seeks call firefighters

Interested in becoming a firefighter? Dartmouth Fire District No. 3 is now accepting applications for call firefighter positions. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license and must live within District 3...

Heroux announces plan to close Ash Street jail, transfer inmates to former ICE facility

Nearly two years after its closure by the federal government, the former immigration detention facility at the Bristol County House of Correction could house inmates again in the coming years. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, Sheriff Paul Heroux announced...

Utility pole crash briefly shuts down State Road

A portion of Route 6 was temporarily shut down Sunday morning after a car crashed into a utility pole. Dartmouth Police said emergency crews were called at 8:28 a.m. for a report of a vehicle crashing into a pole on State Road near Maine Avenue...

Fire districts awarded grants for education programs

Dartmouth Fire Districts 1 and 3 have received nearly $8,000 in state grant funding grant funding to support fire safety and education programs for both children and seniors. District 1 received $3,444 — with $2,309 going toward the Student...

Popular TikToker escorted from Dartmouth Mall

Attention shoppers: playing a saxophone through a traffic cone at the Dartmouth Mall is not allowed. This was the lesson TikTok star and New York-based musician Wenzl McGowen learned after being escorted out of the mall on Friday, Jan. 6. The...

Prudential Committee signals desire to lower payroll budget

The deputy fire chief and fire inspector at Dartmouth’s Fire District 2 will keep their jobs and pay levels, at least for now. That was the decision of the district’s Prudential Committee at its meeting on Jan. 9, where members questioned the...

Inmate suicide points to ‘blind spot’ in procedures, sheriff says

Newly-inaugurated Sheriff Paul Heroux said the recent suicide at the Dartmouth jail likely reveals a “blind spot” in department procedures — something he said he intends to fix. In an interview with the New Bedford Light, Heroux said that while the...

New Bedford man dies by apparent suicide in Dartmouth jail

A 41-year-old New Bedford man died at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth on Jan. 5 in an apparent suicide by hanging, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. Staff at the jail reportedly discovered the inmate...

Dartmouth man imprisoned for 2020 rape

A 27-year-old Dartmouth man was sentenced to serve three to five years in state prison this week after being convicted of raping an acquaintance after a New Year’s Eve party in 2020, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced...

Police department mourns loss of longtime clerk

The Dartmouth Police Department is mourning the loss of its longtime clerk Lorie Vieira, who died on Christmas Eve after a prolonged period of declining health. She was 55 years old. Vieira, a graduate of Dartmouth High in 1985, worked at the police...

Dartmouth resident killed in Acushnet crash

DARTMOUTH – A 27-year-old Dartmouth man was killed in an Acushnet bicycle crash Dec. 22, according to social media reports. James Leandre was killed when the bicycle he was riding collided with a large truck, according to The Bristol County District...

Prudential committee names new Fire District 2 chief

After months of meetings, controversy and deliberation, Dartmouth’s Fire District 2 has a new chief. The Fire District 2 Prudential Committee appointed Erick Turcotte, a current lieutenant with Dartmouth’s Fire District 1, as District 2 chief...

Police use drone to locate missing Freetown toddler

Dartmouth Police on Monday released drone footage which was used to locate a missing two-year-old in Freetown on Dec. 16. According to police, the department's drone unit was requested at 10 p.m. Friday. Within 15 minutes of arriving in Freetown,...

District 2 firefighters sign ‘vote of no confidence’ against prudential committee members

A majority of District 2 firefighters are calling on the newest members of its prudential committee — Bob Bouley and Bill Coutu — "to resign their positions effective immediately.” In a letter submitted by Carolyn Abrantes last week on behalf of her...

Driver crashes into Dartmouth street home

A man was hospitalized with minor injuries after crashing his pickup truck into a home on Dartmouth Street on Sunday. According to Fire District 1, emergency crews responded to a collision at the corner of Dartmouth and Bliss Streets and were...

Eight graduate from Bristol County Correction Officers Academy

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office welcomed its eight newest corrections officers at its recent academy graduation. This latest group includes William DeSilva, Joshua Garcia, Rabigar Garcia, Roshawn Groce, Owen Harrington, Angelis Hernandez,...

Robert Rose convicted for 2018 murder

FALL RIVER — A little more than 24 hours after closing arguments , a jury on Dec. 16 convicted 52-year-old Robert Rose of the 2018 murder of Joseph Tavares outside the Regency Hotel on Faunce Corner Road. He will serve a life sentence in prison with...

Closing arguments presented for 2018 murder case

FALL RIVER — Following two weeks of testimony, attorneys presented their closing arguments Thursday in Fall River Superior Court for the trial of Robert Rose , who is accused of committing murder in Dartmouth in 2018. Rose, who is from New Bedford,...

Shed fire causes upward of $350,000 worth of damage

A fire on Pine Island Road on Dec. 13 has left a Dartmouth homeowner dealing in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. According to Dartmouth Fire District No. 3, the fire was reported at 11:51 a.m. after the homeowner noticed heavy smoke...

Job references come into question for top fire chief candidate

Just days after Dartmouth Fire District 2’s Prudential Committee voted to begin contract negotiations with Dartmouth Police Sgt. Scott Brooks II for the position of fire chief , the candidate’s application has been called into question. Brooks...

Dartmouth man arrested after two-car Chase Road collision

Two people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries on Friday, Dec. 9 after a two-car collision on Dartmouth’s Chase Road left them trapped inside their vehicle, according to Dartmouth Police. Emergency crews responded to the head-on...

Police awarded grant for Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign

The Dartmouth Police Department has been awarded a grant to increase the number of impaired driving patrols during the holiday season as part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign, Police Chief Brian Levesque has...

Fire District 2 offers chief position to police sergeant

Dartmouth’s Fire District 2 may soon have a new permanent chief as a long and contentious hiring process came to a tentative conclusion at the district’s prudential committee meeting on Thursday, Dec. 8. After interviewing two candidates for the...

2018 Dartmouth murder trial begins in Fall River

The murder trial of 52-year-old Robert Rose, a former New Bedford resident, began on Thursday, Dec. 1 in Fall River Superior Court. Rose is charged with shooting and killing 37-year-old Joseph Tavares on Dec. 22, 2018 outside the Regency Hotel on...

Two men arrested following incident that triggered amber alert

Dartmouth Police arrested two Fall River men on Thursday, Dec. 1 following an incident that triggered an amber alert, police said. The police first responded to 1143 Tucker Road at 11:22 a.m. on Thursday, after receiving a call about several people...

Police offer tips to prevent package theft

As the holiday season approaches, Chief Brian Levesque and the Dartmouth Police Department would like to provide tips to prevent theft for residents expecting package deliveries within the coming weeks. According to the National Neighborhood Watch,...

Police break up wild turkey fight

A brawl most fowl occurred at Dartmouth Police headquarters Sunday morning. According to a video posted to the department’s Facebook Page, Sgt. Scott Brooks had to break up a fight between two male wild turkeys. In the video, the two birds who were...

UMass Dartmouth police investigating back-to-back incidents

UMass Dartmouth police are investigating two incidents that occurred on back-to-back nights, including one involving the use of a BB gun. The first incident occurred on Nov. 15, according to an email to students and employees sent by Vice Chancellor...

Fire District 2 names new acting chief, outlines past ‘irregularities’

Fire District 2’s Prudential Committee named Deputy Chief Wayne Thomas as the acting chief of the district’s fire department at its meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16, while also discussing several alleged irregularities within the district in recent...

Two charged with drug trafficking

Two New Bedford residents were arrested as a result of a drug trafficking investigation initiated by Dartmouth detectives, police announced Nov. 16. According to police, officers with the assistance of members of the Massachusetts State Police and...

$7 million facelift on the way for District 1 fire station

Dartmouth Fire District 1’s Bridge Street station is in line for its first major renovations since the department began using the building in the late 1970s. On Nov. 9, district voters unanimously approved $7 million to add a new two-story addition...

Edgcomb fired as acting fire chief

The Dartmouth Fire District 2 Prudential Committee terminated the interim contract of Acting Fire Chief Greg Edgcomb at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Edgcomb’s last day as acting chief will be Friday, Nov. 11. The move comes less than a week after...

Fire District 1 to hold special meeting on station renovations

Fire District No. 1 will hold a special district meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at its Bridge Street station.On the docket is one item: to see if district voters will appropriate $7 million to renovate the station. The building housed the department...

Four graduate from Bristol County Correction Officers Academy

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office welcomed its eight newest corrections officers at academy graduation on Nov. 2. Over the past eight weeks, graduates completed both classroom and hands-on learning on a variety of corrections topics, including...

Acting Fire Chief submits letter of protest over hiring process

A meeting of the Fire District 2 Prudential Committee came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday, Nov. 2 after Acting Chief Greg Edgcomb informed the committee that he had retained legal counsel and submitted a letter of protest in relation to the hiring...

New Bedford man charged with meth trafficking

A New Bedford man was arrested for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine in town, Dartmouth Police announced Tuesday. Police said they, along with state police detectives and officers from Bristol County Sheriff’s Department, executed a search...

Firefighter facing likely suspension following Westport arrest

A Dartmouth firefighter’s job may be up in smoke following a fiery crash in Westport late last week which flooded a portion of Route 6. According to Westport Police, officers responded just after 2:30 a.m. for a car that struck a fire hydrant and...

UPDATE: Missing woman found

Dartmouth Police on Tuesday announced that they located a woman who was reported missing from an assisted living facility earlier in the day. The department thanked everyone involved in locating Linda Santos, 66.

Get frightened at haunted police headquarters

On Monday, Oct. 31, the Dartmouth Police Department will be transformed into a place of hauntings Boys and ghouls of all ages are welcome… if they dare. The “crypt doors” will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. (or until the station’s “crypt keeper” says...

Plenty of sweets at Fire District 1 trunk-or-treat

Halloween came early to Padanaram Village as costumed kids collected candy at the Bridge Street fire station Saturday evening for Fire District 1’s annual trunk-or-treat. The event, held in collaboration with the town’s Department of Parks and...

Man sentenced for robbery of two elderly Dartmouth women

A New Bedford man who shoved and stole purses from two elderly Dartmouth women in 2019 has been sentenced to up to three years in state prison, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office announced Oct. 18. Miguel Brasil, 44, pleaded guilty in...

Fire District 2 to interview two candidates for chief

Dartmouth’s Fire District 2 will look to hire a permanent fire chief from a pool of just two candidates, the district’s prudential committee announced at its Oct. 17 meeting. The committee identified the applicants as current acting fire chief Greg...

Halloween bash at Fire District 3 headquarters

The Paskamansett Engine Company will host its annual Halloween Bash on Monday, Oct. 31. at the Fire District No. 3 headquarters at 140 Cross Road. The bash will include a parade and magic show to follow. The parade will occur at 6 p.m.

Dartmouth Fire District No. 2 open house Oct. 23

Dartmouth Fire District No. 2 will host an open house at their 1100 Russells Mills Rd. location from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23. Guests can learn about the history and future of the fire district, how to handle a fire hose, check out the...

Sheriff's office new comfort dogs to spread pawsitivity throughout region

There’s a new top dog at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office — well, two, actually. On Thursday, Sept. 29, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson announced the addition of canines Jack and Hero, two mixed-breed rescues from Florida, to be the first of the...

Trunk or treat with Fire District No. 1

Dartmouth Fire District No. 1, in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Recreation, will host trunk or treat at the 10 Bridge St. station on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Those attending are encouraged to come dressed in their...

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