The Recorder from Greenfield, Massachusetts • 7

I WV The RccwrdenCrreefirU Mast friday May 17 1995 7 StateRegion Judge rules Lent fit to stand trail v(j)ii i Hi lasiiiii i fiW ilH' ly is relieved" Lent is charged with the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Jimmy Bernardo of Pittsfield He is accused separately in New York state of murdering 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood of Frankfort NY Dennis Vscco New York's attorney general called ruling giant step on the road to Ford's ruling affects only the Massachusetts case directly But New York prosecutors intend to fry Lent there after his trial in this state They have sometimes been at odds with Massachusetts prosecutors as they pushed for Lent to come to New York quickly The Wood family hopes that Lent can be persuaded there to give some information that would help them find their daughter's missing body Lent 45 of North Adams is now serving a 17- The A undated Prm PITTSFIELD A Lewis Lent Jr while fit to stand trial on i of two child murder charges he faces The decision by Judge Daniel Ford of Berkshire Superior Court handed prosecutors one of their biggest victories in the 27-momh-old case against Lent District Attorney Gerard Downing predicted a trial within weeks perhaps as soon as next month In his ruling the judge said Lent indeed suffer from certain mental and-or emotional infirmities" But he said Lent is capable nevertheless of understanding the legal proceedings and consulting rationally with hulawyers a sense of relief for the Bernardo family to know that the trial can now be undertaken' said the district attorney He said the Wood fami- jor degenerative disease in the frontal lobes of the brain a sort of mental command center that controls rational flunking and brakes impulsive behavior They said the exact cause of the ailment has not yet been diagnosed but he is unable to understand the case against him Prosecutors said Lent was exaggerating and faking symptoms to avoid prosecution ana remain outside a regular prison where he fears attacks from guards and other inmates hostile toward sex offenders Even inside the mental institution he has been repeatedly attacked Two of lawyers Alan Rubin and Richard LeBlanc declined comment Thursday on the judge's decision A hearing is expected to be scheduled later this month to hear defense request for a trial site outside Pittsfield where the case has received perhaps the heaviest publicity In another pretrial motion for the Bernardo case the defense has challenged the use of part of Lent's confessions which he made to police when he was arrested in January 1994 At that time Lent allegedly talked of a plan" to kidnap children ana keep them in a secret room w- to-20 year sentence for frying to kidnap a Pitts-nsferreT water psychiatric arm of the prison system with a di field girl He was transferred from a regular state prison to Bridgewater State Hospital' the chulric arm of the i agnosis of major depression During a four-day hearing that ended Monday lawyers argued that he suffers from a ma MDE436RB WHITE-WESTINGHOUSE FLOW-THRU DRYER Eitra-Large Capacity Drum Flow-Thru Drying System Automatic 4 Timed Dry Cycles High Medium 8 Low Temperatures Automatic Cooldown MWX445RB WHITE-WESTINGHOUSE TRIPLE-SCRUB WASHER Extra-Large Capacity Triple -Scrub wash System 9 Cycles 4 WashRmsa Temp Combinations 3 AgrtateSpm Speed Combinations 25-Year Parma 25 Tub Warranty death on slide prompts drawstring ban proposal 96 309" $379 ONLY ONLY Court favors ski areas in rulings BOSTON Massachusetts ski areas got a lift Thursday when the highest court backed them up in lawsuits filed by skiers who blamed injuries on bare spots and icy conditions The Supreme Judicial Court in upholding earlier court decisions dismissed lawsuits against Jiminy Peak and wachusett Mountain "The Legislature has determined that as a matter of law it is not reasonable or practical to expect a ski area operator to provide cover for bare spots on open train Courts and jurors may not substitute their judgment for that of the the SJC wrote in one of its two unanimous opinions The rulings were criticized by the lawyer for one of the plaintiffs of the ile niliims who arguedtl UH-Up Top wDual Support Rods 2 S' A 2 6 Cooktop Elements Chroma Dnp Bowls 20ven Radis Porcelain Broiler Pan Gnd Uft-Ofl Black Glass Solid Door Removable Storage Drawer 31 996 dren a family day care center can legally serve from six to 10 which has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate Under Cohen's bill if a day care center expands to more than six children it would have to have another adult watching the extra kids four adults in the vi of 14 kids you have to whether the ratio had anything at all to do with it" Cohen said of the boy's death anything it makes the bill more ihlpdrfrihf 'kl the very least 11 Cohen said don't think this accident this tragedy ought to deflect it at all" White-Westinghouse The Associated Press BOSTON After the death of a 2-year-eld boy whose sweatshirt drawstring hung up in a city park slide a legislator said Thursday he was considering a bill to ban the strings mi children's clothing Rep David Cohen is reviewing a bill that passed the Connecticut state House in April to ban outerwear with drawstrings in children's sizes from being sold in Connecticut From 1985 to 1995 the US Consumer PrbdUCt Safety Commission-received reports of 17 deaths and 42 non-fatal incidents involving children whose hood and waist drawstrings became entangled on playground equipment bus doors and other items On Wednesday Tre Vaughn Matthews of Hyde Park neighborhood was pronounced dead at Boston City Hospital about two hours after his day care provider noticed him lying on the slide When the day care provider saw the child was caught she freed him and tried in vain to revive him at the bottom of the slide does seem that those drawstrings have been associated with several tragedies involving young children" said Cohen D-Newton The Boston Police Department and the state Office for Children which licenses day care centers continued their investigations into the boy's death Thursday Police Lt Robert said in- MEF305PB msymbal 10 New Model To Chooae From 15 CU FT FROST FREE TOP-FREEZER REFRIGERATOR Uodd URT15CNC 1 50 GuR Frost Free Volume 2 Adj Epoxy-Coated Sliding Wire Shelves Dairy Compartment MASTER COMFORT QUEEN SET 399 eas think it's a real setback for mizes their rights to said Springfield attorney Joel pends the protection of ski areas substantially in my opinion and of course that's why the statute was The court ruled in two similar cases: Elena McHerron vs Jiminy Peak and Amy Beth Saldarini vs Wachusett Mountain Ski Area Fugitive dubbed Rambo surrenders TAUNTON A Brockton fugitive known as because of his muscular physique and dramatic 1994 underwater escape attempt has surrendered to authorities Guy Cummings 32 is accused of holding a Raynham woman hostage for three days He was captured and charged in the incident September 1994 after leading police through a luddle-boro swamp where he hid underwater while breathing through a straw like the lead character in the But Cummings disappeared again in December 1994 after his arraignment and remained a tive until his attorney arranged a si Thursday to Taunton Police Cummings pleaded innocent in Taunton District Court ana was ordered held on $10000 bail on charges of kidnapping assault and battery and threatening to commit a crime He was County Jail ana was to be arraigned on and Stoughton Friday In an interview Cummings said he was not a hardened criminal not guilty I'm not going to stay on the run for a crime I commit no way' Cummings told WHDH-TV Channel 7 "There are so many holes In that case If OJ (Simpson) can get off on a double murder case I sure can gekoff on UMass license plate proposal dears hurdle BOSTON University of Massachusetts graduates would get a new way to Inrag about their alma mater if the Legislature approves a bill to create a UMass license plate The UMass license plate which would be created by a bill approved Thursday by the Legislature's Public Safety Committee would cost $75 $40 more than the standard plate The Commonwealth Scholars Program would receive half of the extra fee and the license owner would choose an alumni organization that would receive the other $20 "The alumni of UMass are proud of their school and I feel it is time we give them an avenue to display this said one of the committee's chairmen Rep Paul Caron D-Springfield Massachusetts has one specialized plate which features the tail of a North Atlantic right whale More man 50000 of those plates have been sold at a cost of $70 with the extra money going to environmental programs Former college off idals admit to embezzling SALEM Two Salem State College officials have pleaded from state and federal programs for inner-city and similar charges are pending against a guilty to embezzling fr high school students vestigators were awaiting an autopsy to determine how long it took the child to die White-Westinghouse FREE Delivery FREE Set Up FREE Removal EnergySaver Svritcti Reversible Textured Steel Doors HIT MRTttCNB Four adults apparently had been supervising 14 children in the Allmont playground when the accident occurred Police were trying to determine where the adults were positioned in relation to the children they were watching Matthews was being cared for by Tonita Davis a licensed family day care provider since 1987 Her file contains no complaints Office for Children spokesman Chris Kealey said Cohen is the chief sponsor of a bill to increase the number of chil- PLOTKIN'S Mattress Gallery 41 Exchange St Athol 1-800-FLOTKIN (756-8546) Local calls 249-3256 i I 1 1 lif $5 55 1 V' Factory Installed Icemaker Joel Gordon MD yPru-ti thud Certified American Board of Dermatology Medical Surgical Treatment of Skin Cancer Warts Moles Rashes Psoriasis 413-774-7900 51 Sanderson St Greenfield Mon Tues Wed 1-5 pm Fri- 9 pm Luis Toriblo and Victor Martinez admitted to forgery and other charges The two took more than $4000 from the EARLY and Upward Bound programs which provide Salem and Lawrence high school students with $40 to $50 a month to attend coUege-prepatory dames Toribio and Martinez pleaded guilty Thursday in Salem District Court Sentencing was scheduled for Aug 7 Toribio 24 of Salem is a Salem State graduate and was director of the EARLY program until last August Martinez 31 of Dracut formerly was a counselor and project coordinator for the Upward Bound program 1 L1 lyy WM-WMhnlwuw I MFC13M36W WHITE-WESTINGHOUSE CHEST FREEZER 12 A Cu Ft Volume Adj Temperature Control Lift-Out Storage Basket Convenient Defrost Drain Power Cord Retainer Textured Steel Cabinet Lid MRT1RFNC WHITE-WESTINGHOUSE 18 CU FT REFRIGERATOR 3 Adj Sliding Wire Shelves Twin Crisper Dairy Compartment Meat Drawer Factory-Installed Icemaker Freezer Table' Shelf 96 s539 $29996 ONLY ONLY Close-out Specials 13 cu ft Frost Free Refrigerator $45000 18" Portable dishwasher maple top $37300 30H Gas Range standing pilots 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