Police, Fire & Courts

Woman fatally struck by vehicle in Padanaram

A 73-year-old Dartmouth woman was fatally struck by a vehicle while in a crosswalk by the Padanaram bridge Tuesday, Dec. 17. According to Chief Brian Levesque, at approximately 3:45 p.m., officers and other emergency personnel responded to the scene...

Five District 1 firefighters recognized as Firefighters of the Year

In the afternoon hours of Oct. 8, 2023, reports were made of an overturned boat near East Beach in Westport. One sailor was seen clinging to the side of the boat’s hull, but the other appeared to be missing, according to District 1 Fire Chief Peter...
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Former ICE facility now training academy and more

The rows and columns of “mothballed bunked beds” and random storage that once filled the former ICE detainment facility on Faunce Corner Road are no more. Now, the building has been retrofitted to house the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office’s training...

Two vehicles involved in car crash on Dartmouth Street

Fire District 1 responded to an apparent head-on collision that occurred near 612 Dartmouth Street at 6:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, with minimal to no injuries sustained by the two drivers, according to District 1 Fire Chief Peter Andrade. The...

Dartmouth battles six brush fires in one night

For the first time in a decade, a brush fire broke out on Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust property amid state warnings about drought conditions that are leaving dry leaves, dead vegetation and other fuels vulnerable to ignition. The fire at the...

Former Dartmouth medical doctor convicted of child rape

A former medical doctor at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford was convicted on Tuesday, Oct. 22 for rape of a child aggravated by age difference, electronic enticement of a child for commercial sex, possession of child pornography, posing a child in...

Police say stop ‘sign-snatching and squabbling’ – instead, head to the polls

With the Nov. 5 election quickly approaching, the Dartmouth Police Department is encouraging residents to “leave the sign-snatching and squabbling behind.” Over the past few weeks, the Department has noticed a rising trend in calls related to...

Former Dartmouth police officer sentenced to prison for child rape, molestation

Shawn Souza, a former Dartmouth Police officer, was sentenced to serve 10 to 15 years in prison on Thursday, Oct. 3 after being convicted for the raping of his young step-daughter and molestation of a teenaged family friend, according to Bristol...

Alleged La Mara Salvatrucha members charged for possible role in two state murders

Three alleged members of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been charged for their possible roles in two separate murders in Massachusetts in December 2010 and July 2020, according to the Department of Justice. La Mara Salvatrucha is a violent,...

Former Deputy Sheriff pays $65,000 after violating conflict of interest law

Former Bristol County Deputy Sheriff Floyd Teague has paid a $40,000 civil penalty and $25,000 in economic advantage damages for violating the conflict of interest law by conducting a public auction in which he placed an absentee bid on behalf of...

Three arrested in undercover child exploitation sting

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, members of the Dartmouth Police Department Investigative Services Division and Community Impact Unit conducted an undercover sting operation to combat the growing threat of commercial sexual exploitation of minors, according...

Voters approve $2.5 million for District 1 fire station renovations

Padanaram will soon have a new and improved fire station after residents agreed to raise their fire tax 15 cents in order to accommodate the project’s construction costs. The station on Bridge Street, which has been awaiting its renovations since $7...

Fire District 1 extracts driver who collided with tree after medical emergency

Around 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, a vehicle collided with a tree on Elm Street by Howland Street after the driver suffered a medical emergency, according to Fire District 1 Chief Peter Andrade. Police were notified of the accident after an alert...

Dartmouth man facing murder charges held without bail

Dartmouth’s Tyler Dow Baglini, 31, is facing murder charges in connection to the Friday, Sept. 20 stabbing homicide on Atlantic Street in New Bedford, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced on Saturday, Sept. 21. The victim,...

Dartmouth man arrested on murder charges following New Bedford fatal stabbing

Dartmouth’s Tyler Dow Baglini, 31, will be charged with murder in connection to the Friday, Sept. 20 stabbing homicide on Atlantic Street in New Bedford, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced on Saturday, Sept. 21. The...

New Bedford man fatally struck by car near Moby Dick Motel

Clifford Kerns, 49, of New Bedford, was fatally struck by a vehicle on Sunday, Sept. 1 near the Moby Dick Motel, according to Dartmouth Police. Police respond to the incident around 4:30 a.m., transporting Kerns to a nearby hospital with life-...

Dartmouth Police arrest New York man on fraud charges

A New York man has been arrested on fraud charges after Dartmouth Police received a report of a resident in town who had possibly been scammed out of $30,000, according to Dartmouth Police. The Dartmouth man contacted police Thursday, Sept. 12 to...

Dartmouth woman pleads guilty to embezzling from multiple employers

BOSTON — A Dartmouth woman pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in federal court in Boston after she allegedly embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from two separate employers, announced Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and...

Double duty: UMass and Dartmouth Police to provide mutual aid

UMass Dartmouth police officers will soon have the ability to take police action in town when patrolling around to different campus locations following the Select Board’s approval of the agreement at its Monday, Sept. 9 meeting. Dartmouth Chief of...

Fire District 1 requesting $2.5 million at Special Meeting to complete station renovations

The $7 million renovations to Dartmouth Fire District 1’s station are on hold unless voters approve $2.5 million in additional funds, according to District 1 Fire Prudential Committee Chair John Haran. Haran attributes the additional cost for the...

Ecuadorian man apprehended after alleged sex crimes against minor

An Ecuadorian man at the Bristol County House of Corrections has been taken into custody by Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston July 27 for several charges of alleged sex crimes against a Massachusetts minor, according to the U.S. Immigration...

Fall River man arrested on gun, drug and shoplifting charges

A Fall River man was arrested on gun, drug and shoplifting charges, after police responded to a report of shoplifting at the Kohl’s on Faunce Corner Road on Saturday, Aug. 17, according to the Dartmouth Police Department. A traffic stop of Carlos...

New Bedford man arrested for alleged stabbing at Capri Motel

A New Bedford man has been arrested on assault charges following an alleged fight and stabbing at the Capri Motel, at 741 State Road, Wednesday, Aug. 21, according to Dartmouth Police. Dartmouth Police responded to a call about a fight and possible...

‘Good people, good food, good time’: Annual pig roast returns for 15th run

For the first time since the Covid pandemic, the Paskmansett Engine Company and the firefighters of Dartmouth Fire District 3 held their annual pig roast Saturday, Aug. 17. Despite the break, this was the 15th event of its kind held by the engine...

Sheriff looks to hire over 100 additional staff to end forced overtime

Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux said it is his goal to bring his staffing from 221 to 332. Since he first campaigned for sheriff in 2022, Heroux said community members have made it clear employee morale is low — primarily due to forced overtime...

Air conditioning installed at House of Corrections to maintain ‘modern, humane’ facility

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office will install air conditioning in all of the remaining housing units at its Dartmouth campus that don’t have air conditioning, according to Sheriff Paul Heroux. “My goal is to run a modern, humane, professional...

Dartmouth Police Relief Association ‘let it rock’ on the green

Dozens filled the seats of the UMass Dartmouth amphitheater, as the familiar beginning notes rang out as the Bon Jovi tribute band, Living on a Bad Name, began to play “Let it Rock” for the Dartmouth Police Relief Association’s annual Concert on the...

Two women arrested on shoplifting charges

Two Dorchester women were arrested by Dartmouth Police for allegedly shoplifting over $4,000 of merchandise from multiple retailers located on Faunce Corner Road Friday, July 19, and is believed to be in connection to a larger organized retail crime...

Dartmouth Police look to fill six vacancies

The Dartmouth Police Department is currently down seven officers and anticipates losing another four by the end of the year, according to Police Chief Brian Levesque. Levesque met with the Select Board Monday, July 22 to request the town offer...

Dartmouth officers awarded for saving a life

On Monday June 3, Dartmouth Police Officers Max Szteliga and Dominik Sullivan-Souza weren’t aware they were responding to a call that would earn them the Life Saving Award, but when the two’s quick actions saved a man’s life, they were recognized...

Dartmouth man faces possession of child pornography charges

Dartmouth’s Jed Cohen, 74, has been charged with possession of child pornography, disseminating photographs of sexual or intimate parts of a child and paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin...

My Brother’s Keeper volunteer killed, another injured following box truck accident

Dartmouth’s Jean Revil, 67, was struck and killed by a box truck on Joseph Drive in Fall River on Wednesday, July 17 while volunteering for My Brother’s Keeper, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Revil and a fellow volunteer...

Engine company extinguishes grime, leaving cars ‘Sparky’ clean

The Russells Mills Engine Company was back at it again trading in their fire hoses for something a little less powerful as they turned from fighting fires to extinguishing grime off of cars in the name of raising money for charity. Cars were looking...