One of the parts of learning the job during my first few days at The Sun involved police reporting vet Rob Mills driving me all over Lowell. Rob, who I was chosen to replace, seemed to know where every murder victim had fallen and where every bullet had become embedded across this colorful city. During my first few weeks on the job — covering people jumping off bridges, fires, stabbings, a couple random shootings into the siding of houses, etc.– I have repeatedly been told by police and fire personnel, “You have big shoes to fill.” I’m not exaggerating when I say ..read more

They say all good things must come to an end, and while I haven’t had a ton of good news to report while spending over a decade as The Sun‘s night-shift crime reporter, I do think we’ve had a good run. It’s coming to an end on Monday morning, when I’ll be showing up in the newsroom at 8 a.m., to start my new job covering courts; Monday through Friday, during the day. I’ll be working when the courts are open, which is going to be a major change. I’ll still be here in Lowell and working for The Sun, but as my daughter gets ready to start Kindergarten and full-day school this Fall, the one thing ..read more

I’m using the blog for something that isn’t crime-related today. I’m not at work yet, and we all need a break from the bad news sometimes. This entry is just to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kyle Mosomba, of Lowell, who turns 15 today. If you follow me on a regular basis, you probably remember Kyle as the young man whose family recruited Lowell police to help them light it up blue for Autism Awareness Day back on April 2. It wasn’t just Lowell police who took up the challenge, though. The folks at Lowell PD spread the word to police departments across eastern Massachusetts, and got over 20 of th ..read more

That title means the dog caught the suspect. Lowell police were called to Avon Street in Pawtucketville tonight about 7:45 p.m., for a report that someone caught a guy breaking into their vehicle. The suspect reportedly fled on foot. Police broadcast a description of the suspect, a Hispanic male, about 5’5, who was wearing a dark shirt and dark hat, and officers searched the area, spotting the suspect at least once on Mt. Hope Street as he attempted to escape, according to police radio broadcasts. Officer Christian Hanson joined the search with his canine partner Bossi – named after legendary ..read more

The hard-charging Rick Sobey and I put together a storm story earlier this afternoon, but due to the storm we were writing about we had an exceptionally early deadline today so we could all get home safe. The storm story that will run in print is here, but I’m posting this as an addendum since the winds started picking up and causing more trouble right about the time we had to put the paper to bed. I just checked in with the Emergency Operations Center in Lowell and was told there haven’t been any really major incidents in the city, and nothing causing serious injuries, but reports of downed ..read more

LOWELL — Lowell police are holding a citizen’s police academy for any city resident over 18 who has no prior arrests or restraining orders. The academy starts on Feb. 9 and lasts for 8 weeks, with classes held on Thursdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lowell Police Training Division, 115 Middlesex St. Topics covered will include constitutional law, criminal investigations, accident reconstruction, use of force, firearms licensing and regulations, motor vehicle law and Lowell police organization. Background checks will be conducted on applicants to ensure they have no prior arrests. To ..read more

Lowell police radios sprang to life tonight about 7:40 p.m., when Officer Chad Collins urgently reported he was pursuing a suspect on foot from Kearney Square to the rear of the Massachusetts Mills complex next to the Merrimack River. Capt. Timothy Crowley tells me Collins had pulled over a pickup truck for moving violations on Bridge Street, but that when the pickup truck pulled into a parking lot behind 25 Bridge Street, the driver ran off on foot with Collins in pursuit. Collins got the suspect, later identified as Kenneth Bard, 33, of Lowell, to briefly stop behind the mills by drawing hi ..read more

LOWELL — Leonel Gonzalez was sleeping early Sunday morning in his home on Moore Street in Lowell when “the whole house shook” as he was awoken by a crash. Gonzalez, speaking in Spanish as his daughter Maggie Gonzalez translated, said with a chuckle that he wasn’t sure if a plane hit his house or if the world was ending. Gonzalez ran outside in his boxer shorts and discovered that a van had crashed through a fence, bushes, and his yard before slamming into the corner of his home’s front porch at 145 Moore St., on the corner of Meadowcroft Street about 1:05 a.m. Magdalina Gonzalez, also speakin ..read more

LOWELL — Police are investigating an incident on Walker Street near Pawtucket Street Saturday night that left two vehicles and a home struck by gunfire, according to police radio broadcast. An officer reported the gunshots to dispatchers about 9:55 p.m. Police radio broadcasts indicated that two parked vehicles were hit in front of 17 Walker St., as well as the home. There were no reported injuries. Officers marked off at least 10 items of evidence in the street as the investigation began, but it was not immediately clear whether all of those items were shell casings. Two residents of the ar ..read more

It’s my night off so I’ve gotta keep this short, but I got some bad news in my email today from Lowell fire Deputy Chief Patrick McCabe. “Today is my last day on the Fire Department,” it read. Of all the firefighters and police who I have worked around in 15 years on this job, there isn’t much of anyone who has ever been more helpful, more honest, or more hard-working that Deputy McCabe. The deputy tried to thank me for making the department look good, but that was never something I tried to do. I just told people what I saw when I watched McCabe and the folks he led work. They looked go ..read more