John Cowles of Westfield is scheduled be arraigned in Hampden Superior Court April 8 on 14 charges.

Buffy Spencer | bspencer@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD - John Cowles of Westfield is scheduled to be arraigned in Hampden Superior Court April 8 on 14 charges, including heroin distribution, breaking and entering and larceny.

Cowles, 35, whose address is listed in court records as 6 Grant St., was indicted by a grand jury March 19.

The date of the crimes are from Nov. 18 to Dec. 30 - the date of his arrest by Westfield police - and a total of six victims are listed.

Of the total counts all but three charge crimes in Westfield. The others list Agawam.

Cowles is charged with distribution of heroin and possession of heroin with intent to distribute Nov. 18 in Westfield.

There is a charge of breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor in Westfield between Dec. 1 to Dec. 28.

Other crimes charged as happening in that date range in Westfield are two counts of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $250.

He is charged with stealing an "old wooden saw, mirror, antique cash register, an old ironing board and china."

Cowles is charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $250 on Dec. 10 in Westfield. In that instance he is charged with stealing a generator, tire rims, tires and tools.

Charges of possession of heroin and malicious damage to a motor vehicle are from Dec. 30 in Westfield.

Cowles is charged with these crimes in Agawam: larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny over $250 (an IPod) and receiving stolen property over $250 (military revision sunglasses, snowboard helmet and military combat helmet.) Those are alleged to have happened Dec. 10 or 11.

And the final charge is for receiving stolen property over $250 in Westfield. That property is identified as a table and chairs.

During an interview with The Republican and El Pueblo Latino prior to her speech, Estefan said the current Cuban government "doesn't negotiate. It's their way or the highway."

Counterterrorism expert says more women should be in crime-fighting field.

Lt. Gov. Polito says administration to boost Springfield economic efforts.

SPRINGFIELD — Seven-time Grammy award-winner and Cuban native Gloria Estefan said on Friday she's hopeful that a normalization of relations between the U.S. and the island nation of her birth will improve, but expressed skepticism about life getting better for Cuban citizens anytime soon.

"I still don't see it yet," Estefan said.

Estefan, the afternoon keynote speaker at the 20th anniversary of the Bay Path University's annual Women's Leadership Conference, said that "as long as the Cuban government is still in power," she is concerned about the fate of the Cuban people.

During an interview with The Republican and El Pueblo Latino prior to her speech, Estefan said the current Cuban government "doesn't negotiate. It's their way or the highway.

"It's going to be tough," she said.

"Hopefully those who want to leave the country can do so," Estefan said, adding that the easing of U.S. ties with Cuba will enable Cubans to get the goods, food and staples they desperately need, she said.

Estefan said a lot of the people who were released after the U.S. announced a softening in its stance toward Cuban "are already back in jail."

Still, Estefan, who moved with her family from Cuban to Miami when she was 2 years old, is hopeful that freedom will finally come to the Cuban people.

Reporter Elizabeth Roman contributed to this story.

At least three people were stabbed in a fight at 73 Cambridge Street Saturday morning, police confirm.

An update to this story was published at 8:43 a.m. Saturday here.

SPRINGFIELD— At least three people were apparently stabbed during a fight on Cambridge Street in Springfield Saturday morning.

Springfield Police Lt. Steven Kent confirmed that "multiple" people were injured in the 73 Cambridge St. incident at approximately 4:45 a.m.

Detectives were still at the scene, he said, and he had few details to release at the time this story was published.

The husband was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

A Texas husband was killed early Friday after he grabbed the steering wheel from his wife during an argument resulting in a car crash.

The man, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car when it rolled.

According to USA Today, the Ford Explorer the two were riding in rolled over around 1:45 a.m. Friday on Interstate 69 in Houston.

The woman, who was wearing a seat belt, told Houston police that she and her husband were having a heated argument.

"The female didn't have any injuries," the newspaper quoted Sgt. J.D. Rossman as saying. "She was evaluated by a DWI officer and found not to be intoxicated."

According to KHOU-TV, CBS11 in Houston, the man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after he was thrown from the car.

"It sounded like a blowout and then next thing you know I seen the truck when it finally stopped right here on the street," witness Jose Espinoza told the television station. "Before the truck stopped the man had already landed on his stomach."

KPRC-TV, NBC2 in Houston reported that the couple had just moved to the Houston area and were apparently looking for a hotel when the accident occurred.

A woman found dead along a Colchester roadway was stabbed to death, the Connecticut State Police now say.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The Hartford Courant reported Friday that police are now saying Kummer was stabbed to death, and her body dumped on Cato Corners Road.

The Courant reported that Kummer had prostitution and drug convictions on her record, but police said it is too early to speculate why she was killed.

Anyone with information about her death is asked to contact the Eastern District Major Crime Squad at 860-896-3230, or the Connecticut State Police Message Center at 860-685-8190.

Polls are open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the April 13 Ware town election.

WARE - A crowded race for selectmen, with four seeking two seats, stands in contrast to the School Committee.

Two School Committee incumbents are not running for reelection in next month's election, with only one candidate on the ballot for the two positions.

Kelly Slattery, of 82 Osborne Road, is seeking a three-year term on the School Committee. Neither Danielle Souza nor William Gunn, current members of the board whose terms expire in April, filed nomination papers with the town clerk.

Incumbent selectmen Gregory A. Harder, of 160 Church St., and Nancy J. Talbot, of 22 Doane Road, are being challenged by a former selectman Catherine R. Buelow-Cascio, of 95 Church St., and William P. Cooper III, of 74 South St.

Peter D. Harder, of 5 Winslow Road, is unopposed for the Board of Assessors.

Also unopposed are Michael F. Juda, of 4 Hutchinson Road, for a seat on the Board of Health, and Henrietta L. Devlin, of 60 Valley View Annex D., for a position on the Ware Housing Authority. No one took out nomination papers for a five-year term on the planning board.

Polls are open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the April 13 Ware town election. There are no ballot questions.

District Attorney Stan Garnett said because the medical examiner's office concluded that the child was not alive outside the mother's womb, it did not qualify as a person under Colorado law.

A Colorado woman who is accused of cutting an unborn fetus from the belly of a pregnant woman cannot be charged with murder, because the fetus was not deemed viable, the district attorney said Friday.

Dynel Lane 

District Attorney Stan Garnett said because the medical examiner's office concluded that the child was not alive outside the mother's womb, it did not qualify as a person under Colorado law. Thus, the fetus cannot be considered the victim of a murder, and instead the state considers the crime to be unlawful termination of a pregnancy, KMGH-TV, abc7 in Denver reported.

"Colorado law is absolutely unambiguous," Garnett said. "Now I understand that many people in the community -- and heaven knows I've heard from a lot of them -- would like me to have filed homicide charges. However, that is not possible under Colorado law."

Garnet said his decision was based largely on the conclusions of coroner Emma Hall's office.

"Neither the autopsy or the investigation have provided any evidence that the baby exhibited any signs of life outside of the womb, therefore the circumstance is not being considered a live birth," Hall said in a written statement.

Under Colorado law, unlawful termination of a pregnancy is punishable by up to 32 years in prison.

According to CNN, Lane, a former nurse's aide who is accused of stabbing Michelle Wilkins, 26, and cutting her unborn baby out of her womb, was charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy, two counts of crime of violence, two counts of first-degree assault, and two counts of second-degree assault.

Wilkins, who was seven months pregnant, survived the attack when she drove to a Longmont home to buy baby clothes that had been advertised for sale on craigslist.com.

Garnett said while the fetus' lungs never inflated, the exact cause of death will not be known until the final autopsy report is released in six to eight weeks.

Lane's lawyers waived a formal reading of charges against her during a court hearing Friday. Lane appeared briefly in a court holding room but did not enter the courtroom, CNN reported.

"She could get a long sentence and very well could die in prison," Garnett said.

Acording to an Associated Press report, Lane went to great lengths to show her family she was expecting a baby herself, even arranging to meet her husband for a pre-natal appointment on the day of the attack, authorities said.

But when Dynel Lane's husband came home to get her, he found her and a baby covered in blood in a bathtub. Lane told her husband she suffered a miscarriage, and he took her and the baby to a hospital, where she was later arrested.

Police wrote in her arrest affidavit that she lured the pregnant stranger to her home and then cut her open.

While drifting in and out of consciousness, Wilkins told police she did not know Lane and only went to her house in response to the ad, affidavit states.

A doctor told investigators the incision in the mother's belly was well performed and would have required some research on Cesarean births.

The woman later managed to call 911 and police arrived to help her sometime after Lane left.

In a recording of the call, a woman says she has been stabbed and pleads for help.

"She cut me," the woman says, later adding, "I'm pregnant."

"Please help me," she says. "Help, help."

A judge ordered Lane to remain in jail on $2 million bond after Assistant Boulder County District Attorney Ryan Brackley described the crime as "extremely violent" and premeditated.

State records show Lane has an expired nurse's aide license, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, the Denver Post reported Friday that a case involving the drowning of Lane's daughter in 2002 will not be reopened.

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Department said a second look at the 2002 drowning of Michael Alexander Cruz indicated no need for a new investigation.

"Investigators did review the case and saw no reason to reopen the investigation," the Post quoted sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Shorter as saying.

"They saw no red flags, nothing that seemed to be missed by the original investigators," Shorter said.

The ninth homicide of the year was the result of a house party fight on Cambridge Street Saturday mornng.

This updates a story posted at 6:55 a.m. Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD— Springfield police have confirmed that one person died after being stabbed in a fight on Cambridge Street Saturday morning.

Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney said the city's ninth homicide of 2015 was the result of a "house party gone bad."

Police were called to 73 Cambridge St. just before 5 a.m. to find the obvious scene of a fight, according to Delaney. They arrested three people at the scene for disorderly conduct.

Two stabbing victims were taken from the scene by private car to get medical help before police arrived, Delaney confirmed, but that car was involved in a collision at the intersection of Oakgrove and State streets, just a few blocks from the fight.

Ambulances were sent to the car crash scene as well as the fight scene.

One of the victims in the car was pronounced dead at the Baystate Medical Center shortly after arrival.

Delaney said some of the victims of the fight were stabbed, while others were struck with baseball bats.

The most popular police and fire stories on Masslive for the week of March 21-27

The valley's growing "Buy Local" group held its annual meeting and potluck Friday.

NORTHAMPTON -- "Nothing connects us better than food," said Philip Korman, longtime director of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, or CISA, as 150 people gravitated to their tables with plates full of savory offerings from a potluck buffet served at the Northampton Senior Center Friday night.

The event was CISA's annual meeting, which featured remarks by new state agriculture commissioner John Lebeaux, a presentation about the emerging Massachusetts Food System Plan by Plainfield resident Winton Pitcoff, and awards to two local farms and a vegetable trucking company.

Lebeaux, whose family ran a nursery business in Shrewsbury for three generations, said Gov. Charlie Baker's emphasis on job creation is compatible with growing the agricultural sector.

"We hope to promote agriculture, to expand markets, to help provide fair and reasonable regulatory environments, so our farmers can sell more product and find themselves in a position where they can hire more people," said Lebeaux.

Providing fresh, healthy food to all people in every part of the state can help support safe, secure communities, another key objective of the Baker administration, said Lebeaux.

Asked what he sees as the biggest challenge facing Massachusetts farmers, Lebeaux said adding more slaughterhouse facilities is at the top of the list.

"We have two in Massachusetts right now," said Lebeaux. "You might have to book months, maybe years in advance to have that work done for you."

Pitcoff was hired to coordinate the state's first food system plan since 1974 more than a year ago. "We've been trying to talk to as many people as we can -- anyone who eats, as well as producers, processors, distributors -- anyone involved in the food system," he said.

Food security issues, farmland and soil health, processing and distribution, urban agriculture, and even fisheries will be examined by the plan, said Pitcoff.

CISA honored three businesses: the Ripley family at Maple Corner Farm in Granville, who have been farming since the 1700s; Adams Farm in Athol, which runs the region's only slaughterhouse and is one of the biggest employers in the north Quabbin region, and Squash Trucking of Belchertown for connecting Pioneer Valley farms with local stores and restaurants.

Even though local farmers face challenges every day, things are looking up, said Korman.

In Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties, the number of farms selling directly to consumers increased by 24 percent between 2007 and 2012, up to 606 farms, he said. The total acreage in farmland grew 8 percent during that time.

CISA itself is on firm footing, with a new strategic plan in place to take the organization into the future, Korman said. The director praised his staff and board members and pointed to the past year's accomplishments.

In 2014, CISA, worked with 250 farms and 130 businesses that source from local farms.

The group significantly expanded its presence in Hampden County, worked with UMass Amherst to document the real cost of producing milk, and consulted with public television station WGBY to produce an agricultural documentary called "A Long Row in Fertile Ground."

The mission of CISA, known for its "Be a Local Hero" campaign, is to strengthen farms in the Pioneer Valley and engage the community to build the local food economy, said Korman.

Over coffee and dessert, the farm crowd brainstormed ways the Massachusetts Food System Plan could help support the local agricultural economy. Those who wish to submit input are invited to learn more by visiting the project's website, Pitcoff said.

A USDA official contacted the llamas' owners shortly after the Feb. 26 incident, saying they needed a license to showcase their llamas or even allow people to snap photos of them, the couple said.

PHOENIX (AP) -- The llamas that became a social media sensation running around a Phoenix-area retirement enclave last month are saying goodbye to the spotlight with one last event Saturday.

Kahkneeta and Laney, whose televised dash mesmerized the Internet and Sun City residents, will likely be making their final public appearance at a Phoenix race track, according to owners Bub Bullis and Karen Freund.

The llama drama that spawned jokes and Twitter hashtags also got the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Freund said.

"If this opens up a can of worms where everybody across the country gets shut down doing this, that's really unfair," Freund said. "That's really a horrible thing to do to people who benefit from them."

A USDA official contacted them shortly after the Feb. 26 incident, saying they needed a license to showcase their llamas or even allow people to snap photos of them, the couple said. Neither was aware of such a policy. The husband and wife, who are both retired Phoenix police officers, had planned to continue offering the llamas for therapy and educational purposes.

"They just totally destroyed everything I had planned for my retirement," Freund said. "We've taken them to schools before. Now they're telling me I can't do anything, even like a photo shoot."

Freund said she is frustrated because the USDA won't respond to any of her follow-up calls about the matter because everything has to be in writing. So they are giving up for now.

USDA national and state offices did not immediately return messages Friday seeking comment.

The couple began raising llamas nine years ago. They currently care for nine.

Most of their llamas are used to being around people at parades and other events. Bullis said he's still not sure what spooked Kahkneeta, a 4-year-old white llama, to run off while visiting a senior living facility in Sun City.

"We figured she would come back. That was a lesson learned. I couldn't believe she didn't come back," Bullis said.

Laney, a 1-year-old black llama, then got loose and followed Kahkneeta. What unfolded over the next few hours has become the stuff of social media legend. Twitter exploded with reactions to the live broadcast of the fugitive llamas. Trending hashtags included #LlamasOnTheLoose and #TEAMLLAMAS. Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain and the Arizona Cardinals even got in on the tweets. The football team tweeted salary offers in hay, which the couple is still hoping to collect.

Since then, Bullis and Freund said things have quieted down except for more requests for llamas at small city events. The couple said they are only at Turf Paradise this weekend because that was scheduled before the great llama escape. Next month, they and the llamas will be moving about 100 miles north of Phoenix to Chino Valley.

"They will just be on the farm and if somebody drives by and takes a picture, I guess I'll get a fine," Freund said.

Barbieri estimated there are approximately 50 or 60 "prolific" criminals in the city. Watch video

This is an update to a story filed at 6:55 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD - As Springfield's top law enforcement and civic officials gathered for a press conference just hours after the city's ninth homicide this year Mayor Domenic Sarno delivered a stark message.

"I'm going to say it: if you live by the sword, many times you're going to die by the sword," he said during a public address at the Springfield Police Department's headquarters on Pearl Street.

He was joined by Police Commissioner John Barbieri, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and other law enforcement figures about seven hours after four were injured at a late-night Cambridge Street house party. Three suffered stab wounds and one was cut by a beer bottle launched during a fracas police are still trying to piece together through witness accounts.

One victim died on the way to the hospital in a private car. That car was involved in an accident but the details of that also are not yet clear.

Police have not yet released the name of the victim who died, but Sgt. John M. Delaney said he was a 23-year-old city resident. He was not a resident of the house where the party took place.

 
"With nine homicides this early in the year, the public deserves to hear from its police department," Barbieri said, while adding that none of the homicides appear to be connected, which makes it difficult if not impossible to predict trends or patterns. This morning's victim was the fifth homicide this month.

Barbieri also emphasized police have made five arrests in connection with the killings and a warrant has issued for 46-year-old Erick L. Buchanon for the March 11 stabbing death of Salina Merritt at 356 Belmont Ave.

Gulluni said both his office and the police department have been working "tirelessly" to investigate these cases and mull over what more they can do to be proactive. But, he said the public will play a critical role in keeping police informed.

"If you know someone who is carrying a gun illegally. If you know about these large, after-hours parties ... call the police," Gulluni said.

Barbieri said law enforcement is intensely focused on "prolific" addresses and individuals in the city that appear to be at the root of criminal activity.

He defined "prolific" not as merely those with criminal histories but a hybrid of a criminal past, criminal present and criminal future, based on information that is shared by a multitude of agencies focused on predicting where crime might occur and by whom.

He estimated there are 50 or 60 "prolific" individuals in the city. After the press conference, police said the home at 73 Cambridge St. where Saturday morning's violence occurred was not considered to be among the "prolific" addresses. There had only been two reports of burglaries there in the past, according to investigators.

Barbieri and Sarno also discussed "hot spots" in the city where an increased police presence may be needed and "hot lists" of potentially high-crime risk individuals either set to be released from prison or milling around in the community.

Police earlier said they believed the violence at the Cambridge Street was gang-related but Barbieri later said it was too early to tell. He did say, however, that witnesses were cooperating with police.

"We have been getting cooperation from witnesses and neighbors, which is refreshing," he told reporters.

He encouraged the public to pass along concerns proactively either by calling 911 or through the department's text-a-tip feature that allows people to send in tips anonymously.

Barbieri also said he has in mind the root causes of violence.

"Crime is not white, black or Hispanic. It's about poverty and opportunity," he said.

More details about the clash at Cambridge Street will be provided as they become available.

Hundreds gathered outside of the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday to rally against a new law that opponents say could sanction discrimination against gay people.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Hundreds of people gathered outside of the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday, some carrying "no hate in our state" signs, to rally against a new law that opponents say could sanction discrimination against gay people.

The law's supporters, however, contend the discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds.

Since Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill into law Thursday, Indiana has been widely criticized by businesses and organizations around the country, as well as on social media with the hashtag #boycottindiana. Local officials and business groups around the state hope to stem the fallout, though consumer review service Angie's List said Saturday that it is suspending a planned expansion in Indianapolis because of the new law.

The measure, which takes effect in July, prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

Saturday's crowd, for which police didn't have an exact estimate, stretched across the south steps and lawn of the Statehouse building. At one point, they chanted "Pence must go," and many held signs like "I'm pretty sure God doesn't hate anyone" and "No hate in our state."

Zach Adamson, a Democrat on Indianapolis' City-County Council, said to cheers that the law has nothing to do with religious freedom but everything to do with discrimination.

"This isn't 1950 Alabama, it's 2015 Indiana," he told those in attendance, adding that the law has brought embarrassment on the state.

He and other speakers urged people to register to vote, and said only way to stop laws like this is to elect new members of the Indiana General Assembly.

Supporters of the law maintain that in courts haven't allowed discrimination to happen under similar laws covering the federal government and in 19 other states.

But some national gay-rights groups say lawmakers in Indiana and about a dozen other states that have proposed such bills this year are essentially granting a state-sanctioned waiver for discrimination as the nation's highest court prepares to mull the gay marriage question.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican who opposed the law, said he and other city officials would be talking to many businesses and convention planners to counter the uproar the law has caused. "I'm more concerned about making sure that everyone knows they can come in here and feel welcome," Ballard said.

The Indianapolis-based NCAA has expressed concerns about the law and has suggested it could move future events elsewhere; the men's Final Four will be held in the city next weekend.

Angie's List had sought an $18.5 million incentive package from Indianapolis' City-County Council to add 1,000 jobs over five years. But founder and CEO Bill Oseterle said in a statement Saturday that the expansion was on hold "until we fully understand the implications of the freedom restoration act on our employees."

Around the state, stickers touting "This business serves everyone" have been appearing in many businesses' windows, and groups such as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce have taken to social media with messages that the state is full of welcoming businesses. Democratic South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg touted on Twitter his city's civil rights ordinance's protections for gays and lesbians, while Republican Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke wrote that the law "sends the wrong message about Indiana."

Indianapolis' tourism and convention business is estimated to have a $4.4 billion annual economic impact with some 75,000 jobs. Chris Gahl, a vice president with tourism agency Visit Indy, said: "We know that their ability to work is largely dependent on our ability to score convention business and draw in events and visitors."

Alex Douglass, the state police trooper injured in an ambush that killed his colleague, spoke at a public event Saturday honoring the late Cpl. Bryon Dickson.

DUNMORE, Pa. -- Alex Douglass, the state police trooper injured in an ambush that killed his colleague, spoke at a public event Saturday honoring the late Cpl. Bryon Dickson.

Dunmore named a road after Dickson.

State police Trooper Alex Douglass, left, who was injured during a fatal ambush at a state police barracks, during the holidays.Wilkes-Barre Citizen's Voice/AP, file 

Eric Frein, 31, is charged with opening fire outside the Blooming Grove barracks on Sept. 12, hitting Douglass in the pelvis and killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson. Douglass has had 16 surgeries, with at least one more planned. 

According to WNEP in Moosic, Douglass hopes to return to work:

Frein allegedly led police on a tense 48-day manhunt through the northeastern Pennsylvania woods before U.S. marshals caught him outside an abandoned airplane hangar about 30 miles from the shooting scene. Frein has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In a secure portion of the barracks, framed photos on the walls portray scenes from Dickson's funeral.

• MORE: Trooper uses victim's car to deliver handcuffs to Eric Frein capture, police say

A committee is working on a permanent memorial to Dickson, 38, a seven-year veteran of the force who left behind a wife and two children.

Detectives were continuing to follow leads and speak with witnesses, as the investigation was set to continue Saturday night. Watch video

(This story updates a news article that was last updated at 1:52 p.m.)

SPRINGFIELD -- An early early morning fracas on Cambridge Street on Saturday, that resulted in three stabbings including one victim who died after being rushed to the hospital, remains under under investigation by police.

There were no arrests in connection with the homicide as of late Saturday afternoon and police continued to withhold the name of the 23-year-old victim pending notification of all family members.

"The investigation is ongoing and detectives are speaking with witnesses and following leads," said police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney Saturday afternoon, in a prepared release. "This investigation will last into the evening."

It marked the ninth homicide of the year in Springfield.

The stabbings were the result of an early-morning "house party" at 73 Cambridge St., in the Bay Neighborhood, Delaney said.

Two stabbing victims were being rushed by car to the hospital when the car was involved in an accident at Oak Grove Avenue and State Street, reported at 4:45 a.m., Delaney said.

The homicide victim, who was in the car heading to the hospital, was pronounced dead at 5:16 a.m., police said.

A third stabbing victim was found on Cambridge Street. There was also another younger man who was struck with a blunt object in the hand, possibly a beer bottle, police said.

Homicide detectives under the direction of Lt. Thomas Kennedy and Lt. Maurice Kearney took over the crime scene at the house, and at the accident scene, Delaney said.

Police Commissioner John Barbieri said the latest homicide was a case of a "house party gone bad."

Barbieri, who took part in a Saturday press conference, urged citizens to call 9-1-1 whenever fights break out at parties so that responding officers can "stop the violence before it escalates," Delaney said.

"Resident safety still continues to be primarily determined by whom you associate with; whether you belong to a criminally organized gang; carry illegal firearms; or illegally sell narcotics," Barbieri said. "The Springfield Police Department deeply sympathizes with those families that have suffered losses and we will work tirelessly in an attempt to bring those responsible for justice."

The Police Department is asking anyone with information to contact the Major Crimes Unit, Barbieri said.

"We also implore anyone who becomes aware of any dangerous situation that may lead to this type of violence to do the right thing and contact the Police Department before the incident gets out of hand or occurs."

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who joined Barbieri and other law enforcement officials at the press conference, said in part: "I'm going to say it: if you live by the sword, many times you are going to die by sword."

A former Ole Miss student has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights and one count of using a threat of force to intimidate African-American students because of their race or color.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- James Meredith, who integrated the University of Mississippi under federal protection a half-century ago, says it's a shame that state authorities deferred to the federal government to bring charges after a noose was left on a campus statue of him.

The Justice Department said Friday that a former Ole Miss student, Graeme Phillip Harris of Alpharetta, Georgia, has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights and one count of using a threat of force to intimidate African-American students because of their race or color.

The indictment is connected to a February 2014 incident in which a noose and a former Georgia flag, prominently featuring the Confederate battle emblem, were placed on a Meredith statue near the main administration building at Ole Miss. It wasn't immediately clear whether Harris had an attorney to contact for comment on his behalf.

Harris, who is white, was an Ole Miss student when the noose was left on the statue. University spokesman Danny Blanton said Friday that Harris is no longer enrolled and that university officials turned the case over to federal prosecutors and deferred to their judgment.

Meredith, who is 81 and lives in Jackson, said state authorities should have pursed charges.

"What it is saying is that the only possible justice for a black in the state of Mississippi is the federal government and if there's anything that we don't need it's that being our only means of expecting justice," Meredith told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday. "I think Mississippi is better than that. If it's not better than that, it should be made better than that."

The local district attorney said in 2014 that state charges wouldn't be filed because no state laws were broken. Mississippi's hate crime law requires an underlying crime for additional charges. Because the statute wasn't marred or broken, prosecutors said typical vandalism charges didn't apply.

In 1962, anti-integration protests erupted into violence and Meredith had to be escorted by armed federal agents as he enrolled under court order as the first black student at the university.

In announcing the indictment of Harris on Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder said of the noose incident:  "This shameful and ignorant act is an insult to all Americans and a violation of our most strongly-held values.

"No one should ever be made to feel threatened or intimidated because of what they look like or who they are," Holder said in a news release. "By taking appropriate action to hold wrongdoers accountable, the Department of Justice is sending a clear message that flagrant infringements of our historic civil rights will not go unnoticed or unpunished."

Hundreds of Ole Miss students attended a racial reconciliation rally on campus after the 2014 incident.

"It has taken time, but the process has worked and I'm confident justice will be done," Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones said in a statement Friday. "I am thankful for the strong, united response of our university community to the desecration of the James Meredith statue last year, confirming our university values of civility and respect."

The national office of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity suspended its Ole Miss chapter after three of the chapter's members were accused of leaving the noose and flag on the Meredith statue. Names of the three students from Georgia were not released at the time.

The Meredith statue was erected in 2006 near the main administrative building at Ole Miss, the Lyceum. In a 2012 autobiography, Meredith said the university should destroy the statue because he said it trivialized his effort to destroy a system of white supremacy that had long dominated Mississippi, his native state.

"I have become a piece of art, a tourist attraction, a soothing image on the civil rights tour of the South, a public relations tool for the powers that be at Ole Miss, and feel-good icon of brotherly love and racial reconciliation, frozen in gentle docility," Meredith wrote.

Seven people were injured, some critically, during an early-morning spray of gunfire Saturday at a spring break party on the Florida Panhandle.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- Seven people were injured, some critically, during an early-morning spray of gunfire Saturday at a spring break party on the Florida Panhandle, police said. An Alabama man was quickly apprehended and charged with attempted murder.

Multiple 911 calls flooded in just before 1 a.m., reporting the shootings at the house party in Panama City Beach, and deputies found a sprawling crime scene with victims inside the home, outside and across the street from it, and in the street's median, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said.

Officers set up a perimeter and found a suspect matching witnesses' description. David Jamichael Daniels, 22, of Mobile, Alabama, was charged with seven counts of attempted murder and jailed awaiting a first court appearance. A .40-caliber handgun believed to have been used was found in the yard of a nearby home.

Sheriff Frank McKeithen said a busy party full of dancing young people dissolved into "a chaotic scene." Daniels was free on bond on a drug possession charge in Alabama, the sheriff said, and was accompanied by two others, one who had been recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in Mobile last week.

The two companions to the accused shooter were questioned but not charged. A woman who declined to give her name answered the phone at the home of Daniels' relatives and said the family would not comment on the shooting.

At least three were critically injured: Kearria Freed, 20, who was shot in the head; Devanta Moore, 21, who was shot in the chest; and Henton Franklin, 22, who was shot in the side. Three others were listed in stable condition: Jacole Young, 22, who police said was shot in the back three times; Kelli Curry, 21, who was shot in the leg; and Tykeria Ethridge, 22, who was shot in the neck and shoulder.

A seventh victim -- Anesia Powell, 20 -- was shot in the left arm, chest, and knee, and was undergoing surgery Saturday. No condition was given.

Three of the victims -- Freed, Curry and Powell -- are students from Alabama A&M University in Panama City Beach for spring break, university spokesman Jerome Saintjones said. He said investigators in Florida told the university police department the students were innocent bystanders.

University officials were sending staff to Panama City Beach to assist the victims.

McKeithen said hundreds of people have been arrested in recent weeks in and around Panama City during its raucous spring break celebrations. The masses of college students bring a parallel migration of unsavory visitors to the area and, combined with heavy consumption of alcohol, pose a huge challenge to officers, he said.

"We have a recipe for disaster," he said.

The event will be held April 9.

File photo-Enfield, Conn. The Enfield Senior Center will host a speed-dating event April 9. Here seniors at the East Longmeadow Senior Center listen to Tony Rarus, of Enfield, during a musical performance.Michael S. Gordon 

ENFIELD, Conn. — Dating isn't just for young singles and the staff at the Enfield Senior Center is proving just that.

The center will be hosting a speed-dating event on April 9 to give seniors a chance to meet, mingle and make plans for the future.

The monthly newsletter released by the center promises "adventurous, fun participants" at the event which will be held from 6-8 p.m.

There is no charge but registration is requested. Anyone who is interested can call (860) 763-7425 or e-mail slather@enfield.org for more information or to register.

Currently there are more women than men signed up for the event, so the center is encouraging gentlemen who may be experiencing loneliness or are looking for a fun evening to sign up.

Dessert and coffee will be served. If couples hit it off there are plenty of activities at the center they can participate in from salsa classes to day trips to New York City or a romantic getaway on an eastern Caribbean cruise.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he would support legislation to "clarify the intent" of a new state law that has attracted widespread criticism over concerns it could allow discrimination against gay people.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he would support legislation to "clarify the intent" of a new state law that has attracted widespread criticism over concerns it could allow discrimination against gay people.

In an interview Saturday with the Indianapolis Star, the Republican governor said he's been in discussions with legislative leaders this weekend. He expects that a clarification bill will be introduced this coming week to the religious objections law he signed Thursday. Pence declined to provide details but told the newspaper that making gay and lesbian Indiana residents a protected legal class is "not on my agenda."

Pence disputes that the law allows state-sanctioned anti-gay discrimination, as some Indiana businesses, convention organizers and others have argued. He says he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state."

Since Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill into law Thursday, Indiana has been widely criticized by businesses and organizations around the nation, as well as on social media with the hashtag #boycottindiana. Local officials and business groups around the state hope to stem the fallout, although consumer review service Angie's List said Saturday that it is suspending a planned expansion in Indianapolis because of the new law.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people, some carrying signs reading "no hate in our state," gathered Saturday outside the Indiana Statehouse for a boisterous rally against a new state law that opponents say could sanction discrimination against gay people.

Pence and other supporters of the law contend discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds. They also maintain that courts haven't allowed discrimination under similar laws covering the federal government and 19 other states.

But state Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat, said Indiana's law goes further than those laws and opens the door to discrimination.

"This law does not openly allow discrimination, no, but what it does is create a road map, a path to discrimination," he told the crowd, which stretched across the south steps and lawn of the Statehouse. "Indiana's version of this law is not the same as that in other states. It adds all kinds of new stuff and it moves us further down the road to discrimination."

The measure, which takes effect in July, prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

Angie's List had sought an $18.5 million incentive package from Indianapolis' City-County Council to add 1,000 jobs over five years. But founder and CEO Bill Oseterle said in a statement Saturday that the expansion was on hold "until we fully understand the implications of the freedom restoration act on our employees."

Saturday's crowd, for which police didn't have an exact estimate, chanted "Pence must go!" several times and many people held signs like "I'm pretty sure God doesn't hate anyone" and "No hate in our state."

In the newspaper interview, Pence said he didn't expect the reaction the law has generated.

"I just can't account for the hostility that's been directed at our state," he said. "I've been taken aback by the mischaracterizations from outside the state of Indiana about what is in this bill."

Zach Adamson, a Democrat on Indianapolis' City-County Council, said to cheers that the law has nothing to do with religious freedom but everything to do with discrimination.

"This isn't 1950 Alabama; it's 2015 Indiana," he told the crowd, adding that the law has brought embarrassment on the state.

Among those who attended the rally was Jennifer Fox, a 40-year-old from Indianapolis who was joined by her wife, Erin Fox, and their two boys, ages 5 and 8, and other relatives.

Fox said they married last June on the first day that same-sex marriage became legal in Indiana under a federal court ruling. She believes the religious objections law is a sort of reward to Republican lawmakers and their Conservative Christian constituents who strongly opposed allowing the legalization of gay marriage in the state.

"I believe that's where this is coming from -- to find ways to push their own agenda, which is not a religious agenda; it's aimed at a specific section of people," Fox said.

Although many Indianapolis businesses have expressed opposition to the law and support for gays and lesbians, Fox worries her family could be turned away from a restaurant or other business and that her sons would suffer emotionally.

"I certainly would not want them to think that there's something wrong with our family because we're a loving family," she said.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican who opposed the law, said he and other city officials would be talking to many businesses and convention planners to counter the uproar the law has caused. "I'm more concerned about making sure that everyone knows they can come in here and feel welcome," Ballard said.

The Indianapolis-based NCAA has expressed concerns about the law and has suggested it could move future events elsewhere; the men's Final Four will be held in the city next weekend.

Ramírez's known body of work now comprises more than 450 drawings and collages.

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring the work of Mexican artist Martin Ramirez by placing five of his drawings and collages on Limited Edition Forever stamps.

The U.S. Post Office will feature the artwork of Mexican artist Martin Ramirez on a Limited Edition Forever stamp sheet.U.S. Post Office 

Although he worked mostly outside the art world in his lifetime,after being confined to psychiatric hospitals for more than 30 years, Ramirez is recognized today as one of the great artists of the 20th century. He was born in 1895 in a rural community in Guadalajara, and died in 1963.

"Our choice of Martin Ramirez as the subject of a Forever stamp sheet reflects the widespread -- and growing -- influence he has had on art in the United States, as well as on artists throughout the world," said U.S. Postal Service Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Joseph Corbett. "And though his name remained virtually unknown in the decade following his death in 1963, Martin Ramirez's work has become some of the most highly valued examples of art. Today, he joins the ranks of other famous artists, such as Norman Rockwell, Georgia O'Keefe, William H. Johnson and Frida Kahlo, who have been honored on American postage stamps."

Ramirez's known body of work now comprises more than 450 drawings and collages.

Customers can purchase the stamps at their local Post Office, by visiting www.usps.com or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24.