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Sunday, jun 29
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Kathy Reakes
Reporter
kreakes@dailyvoice.com
Kathy Reaks has worked as a reporter in the local news business since 1984, starting as a news clerk and working her way up. She spent 17 years at Florida Today in Melbourne, Florida as a general assignment reporter, crime reporter, entertainment reporter and restaurant critic. She worked four years at Hometown News as a general assignment reporter, then another two years at Spacecoast Daily in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She attended Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida.
Fairfield County Man Charged For Failing To Plant Trees, Police Say
A Fairfield County man has been arrested for allegedly taking $13,000 to buy and plant trees he never bought or planted.
Joseph Esposito Jr. age 53, of Redding, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 15 by Westport Police and charged with larceny.
According to Lieutenant David Wolf, of the Westport Police, Esposito was arrested after the department received a complaint that he had taken $13,000 in November 2021 from a Westport resident to buy and plant trees.
The work was never performed and despite multiple requests, the deposit was not returned to the complainant, Wolf said.
When…
Out-Of-State Man Sentenced For Traveling To CT To Have Sex With Minor
An out-of-state man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for traveling to Connecticut to attempt to have sex with a minor.
Christopher Brereton, age 35, of Fargo, North Dakota, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 17, to 37 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, said Leonard C Boyle, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2020, Brereton began chatting online with a minor female who had an online profile stating she was 18 years old.
In February 2020, a law enforcement offi…
CT Shoplifting Suspect Pepper Sprays Security Guard, Makes Escape, Police Say
A woman who allegedly shoplifted items from a Connecticut Walmart store pepper-sprayed an employee as she fled after being stopped, police said.
The incident took place in Hartford County just before 10 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, at the Walmart, located at 1400 Framington Ave., in Bristol.
According to Lt. Christopher Lennon, of the Bristol Police, the woman was stopped after being spotted placing numerous items in her personal bag.
She then exited the store, and when security personnel stopped her and asked for a receipt, she ignored them and kept walking, Lennon said.
When the sec…
Fugitive Caught After Striking Officer With Car In Massachusetts
A man who struck a Massachusetts police officer with a vehicle while attempting to execute a search warrant has been captured by state police.
Troopers arrested Worcester County resident Bryan Walker, age 39, of Fitchburg, on Friday, Feb. 18, for the incident which took place on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
According to Dave Procopio, spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, on Wednesday morning, the state police gang unit attempted to execute a search warrant at 182 Mechanic St. in Fitchburg as part of an ongoing investigation.
Walker was the target of that investigation, he said. …
Two CT Men Killed In Same City In Separate Shootings Hours Apart, Police Say
Police in one Connecticut city are investigating two homicides that occurred in one day.
Hartford Police said two men were killed in separate incidents on Thursday, Feb. 17 in different parts of the city.
According to Lt. Aaron Boisvert, the first incident took place around 1 p.m., when officers responded to the area of 271 Franklin Ave., where they found an unresponsive gunshot victim on the sidewalk.
The man, identified as Christian Feliciano, 20, of Hartford, was pronounced dead after lifesaving efforts failed, Boisvert said.
The second incident took place hours later, at 11:36 p…
Nassau Man Sentenced For Bludgeoning Attack Killing Mother, Sister, Family Friend
A Long Island has been sentenced for a bludgeoning that left his mother, sister, and a family friend dead, and injured another woman in the home.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said Bobby Vanderhall, age 39, of Hempstead, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison on Friday, Feb. 18 for the August 2017 killings.
According to the indictment, around 1 a.m. on Saturday, August 12, 2017, Vanderhall forcibly entered his family home in Hempstead with a hammer and screwdriver.
Once inside, Vanderhall used the hammer to bludgeon his mother, Lynn, his sister, Melissa, and h…
20-Year-Old From Hudson Valley Sentenced For Fatal Shooting
A Hudson Valley man will spend up to five years in state prison for the shooting death of another man.
Rockland County resident Collyer Goodman, age 20, of Valley Cottage, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 17, said Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh.
Goodman, who had pleaded guilty to the charges of manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, was 18 years old at the time he killed Darien Brydie, age 21, of Country Club Hills, Illinois in August 2020 in the village of Nyack, officials said.
According to the DA's Office, on Sunday, August 23, 2020, Goodman was sitting…
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