Police and Fire News

Two-vehicle crash at West Main and 28 in Hyannis; Barnstable Police investigate shooting on Fresh Holes Road in Hyannis; Marstons Mills drug raid; Conservation trails at Dennis Pond closed until further notice

Crash at the intersection of West Main Street and Route 28 in Hyannis

HYANNIS - At approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a two-vehicle crash occurred at the intersection of Route 28 and West Main Street in Hyannis.  A blue hatchback and a maroon sedan appear to be the only vehicles involved in the accident at the intersection. 

Barnstable Police and Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills (C-O-MM) Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. At least one of the parties may have been transported to the hospital. 

The crash resulted in a traffic tie up and a detour of Route 28 southbound traffic onto West Main Street.

We will update as more information becomes available.

Photo by Peter Robbins.

Barnstable police investigate shooting on Fresh Holes Road in Hyannis

Devarus Hampton, 27, was arrested by Barnstable police Thursday after gunshots were fired on Fresh Holes Road in Hyannis. Police charged Hampton with armed assault with intent to murder, which is a felony, and four other charges.

Police charge Mississippi native with armed assault with intent to murder
Bail revoked on previous child rape charge

HYANNIS - Barnstable police have arrested a Hyannis man following an incident Thursday night in Hyannis in which they say he fired gunshots at another man on Fresh Holes Road.

Police charged Devarus Hampton, 27, of Fresh Holes Road and various Hyannis motels, with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, threatening to commit a crime, ie., murder, carrying a firearm without a license and violating a person's civil rights.

Hampton, who was arraigned Friday in Barnstable District Court, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to a release from the Barnstable Police Department, members of the department responded about 7:50 p.m. Thursday to Fresh Holes Road for a report of an assault involving a firearm.

After arriving at the scene, patrol officers and detectives interviewed the victim and witnesses to the incident.  The victim advised officers that he had a verbal altercation with an individual in the parking area of 30 Fresh Holes Road. 

A short time after the verbal altercation, the suspect returned to the parking area and confronted the victim.  According to a police report filed at court, the victim said the suspect stated, "You Spanish people don't belong here, so get out of here." 

According to the report, the suspect became increasingly angry, reached into his waistband, removed a revolver and fired a shot at the victim, who then ran into his nearby residence. As the victim ran, he said, he heard three more shots fired at him. The suspect then ran off.

Police who responded to the scene subsequently observed damage in the line of fire described by the victim, including to a car parked nearby.

The victim, who said he knew the suspect, subsequently identified him as Devarus Hampton when presented with a photo array at the Barnstable police station.

The Yarmouth Police Department then found Hampton on Route 28 at about 11:30 p.m. He was placed under arrest.

Following his arrest, Hampton allegedly promised on his release from jail to shoot a Barnstable police officer to death.

While being brought to the Barnstable police station, according to the report, Hampton told a Barnstable police officer that "when I get out I am going to shoot you to death m--f--!"

According to the report, a state query showed that Hampton does not have a valid firearms identification card or a license to carry firearms.

At Hampton's arraignment on Friday, District Court Judge Don Carpenter ordered him held without bail, finding based on the case that Hampton is a danger to the community and the victim.

Carpenter also revoked the bail on which Hampton was free pending the resolution of another case, an alleged rape of a child around November and December 2007. A Barnstable grand jury had indicted Hampton for that alleged crime, which is a felony.

According to court papers, Hampton was born Feb. 17, 1983 in Isola, Miss. He has lived in the Cape area for the past 10 years.

He is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial proceeding on Nov. 19.

Fresh Holes Road in Hyannis was the scene of an incident Thursday night in which gunshots were fired.

Release courtesy of the Barnstable Police Department. Map courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Police conduct drug raid at Marstons Mills home
Arrest two men on several charges

MARSTONS MILLS - Police have charged two men with drug and other offenses after executing a search warrant Wednesday at 115 Lovells Lane in Marstons Mills.

Police arrested Robert B. Kenworthy Jr., 29, of 115 Lovells Lane and Henry "Shaggy" Golay III, 25, of Roxbury.

On Wednesday, officers from the Cape & Islands Drug Task Force, the Barnstable police and the Drug Enforcement Administration entered the residence and found Kenworthy and Golay inside.

According to a statement of facts filed with the case, Kenworthy, who was read and said he understood his Miranda rights, said 300 pills were in the bedroom. Officers then found about 300 30-milligram Percocet pills in a drawer in a bedroom. Officers also found a smaller amount of pills and marijuana on Kenworthy. A search also turned up a loaded .38-caliber revolver.

Police then took the two men to the Barnstable police station for booking. In interviews at the station, police said, each man said the pills were theirs.

Kenworthy was charged with trafficking in a Class A narcotic (oxycodone), possession of marijuana, conspiring to violate drug laws, and carrying a firearm with a license or firearms identification card.

Golay was charged with trafficking in a Class A narcotic (oxycodone), conspiring to violate drug laws, and carrying a firearm with a license or firearms identification card.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on bail. They are scheduled to return to court on Dec. 9 for a pre-trial proceeding.

Lewd acts close Yarmouth conservation trails
Illicit sexual activity, lewd and lacivious public behavior cause of closure

YARMOUTHPORT - Due to ongoing reports of illicit sexual activity and related public health and environmental concerns—the conservation trails at Dennis Pond in Yarmouthport have been temporarily closed and will be reopened when the problems have been resolved.

The Dennis Pond Conservation Area is located on Willow Street in Yarmouthport, adjacent to Dennis Pond.  The main trail is approximately 3,285 feet long and winds it way through a variety of woodland areas in a general fashion alongside the south side of the pond.

The area of concern has become a meeting spot for illicit sexual activity with chronic reports of lewd and lascivious public behavior as well as discarded paraphernalia and littering. 

When time permits uniformed members of the Yarmouth Department of Natural Resources and the Yarmouth Police Department will monitor the area in question and conduct periodic high visibility patrols.

Click on the image above to see a larger version of the Dennis Pond area map.

Release & map courtesy of the YPD.

Environmental Police Remind Boaters to Wear Lifejackets

Late autumn temperatures increase risks for canoeists and kayakers

BOSTON – With air and water temperatures dropping, the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) today reminded boaters that state law requires canoeists and kayakers to wear a personal flotation device (PFD) at all times through May 15.

“The Environmental Police recommend that boaters wear life jackets year-round, but during cool and cold weather months, it’s the law in Massachusetts,” MEP Director Aaron Gross said. “This reminder serves two very important purposes. It could save you from an unwelcome visit from an enforcement officer, and - much more important – it could save your life.”

“The environmental police recommend that boaters wear life jackets year-round, but during cool and cold weather months, it’s the law in Massachusetts,” said  Environmental Police Director Aaron Gross.

The MEP point out that beautiful fall days mask water temperatures that are dangerously cold.  If paddlers capsize or fall overboard, they can succumb within minutes to hypothermia, (the lowering of a person’s internal body temperature), which deadens arms and legs and renders a victim unable to swim, paddle, or stay afloat.  A related danger, the “cold-water-immersion-reflex” - whereby a victim, shocked by frigid water, involuntarily gasps and ingests a significant amount of water - can lead to death by drowning. 

In the nine fatal boating accidents in Massachusetts during 2007, none of the victims were wearing lifejackets. Not wearing a lifejacket, small boat instability, and cold water-induced hypothermia were significant factors in most fatalities.

Massachusetts boating regulations require that all persons aboard canoes and kayaks between September 15 and May 15 wear a Coast Guard-approved Type I, II, or III PFD at all times while a boat is underway.  In addition, the Environmental Police recommend wearing a PFD as standard practice year-round, and remind boaters that children under 12 are required to wear PFDs in boats of all types throughout the year. While most Type I, II, and III lifejackets will not prevent hypothermia, they do give the victim one less thing to worry about: staying afloat.

“In Massachusetts and nationwide, most boating fatalities start as a capsizing or fall overboard, and, historically, 80 percent of the victims are not wearing lifejackets,” Colonel Gross said. “Lifejacket wear gives victims and rescuers additional precious time to help themselves out of a potentially tragic episode.”  

The MEP also encourage all boaters to take a state-approved boating safety course.  Click here for links to the MEP boating course schedule, other approved course providers, and information about state boating laws.

Release courtesy of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.