LPD WebNews

The Lowell Police Department will be hosting a Child Passenger Seat Checkpoint at Gervais Kia, 6 Industrial Avenue, in Lowell, on May 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The LPD’s Safety Officer will be on hand to assist new and expecting parents on proper car seat installation. Additionally, the Safety Officer will provide information on crash dynamics and the five most common types of child safety seat misuse.

The LPD will also be hosting a Child Passenger Seat Checkpoint in June, date and time TBD. Please check the LPD website in the coming weeks for more information.

If you cannot attend these events, the LPD operates a free fitting station at the Pawtucketville Precinct during the week. Please call Safety Officer Paul Corcoran at (978) 446-7071 to schedule an appointment.

To learn more about the Child Passenger Seat Program, please visit the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s website www.mass.gov/childsafetyseats.

Crime Stoppers of Lowell will pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s) responsible for the unsolved homicide of Hermes Pena and Augusto Degree, Lowell Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee and Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone announced today.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the Lowell Police Department, the District Attorney and Superintendent Lavallee announced the reward offerings in connection with two homicides:

· Hermes Pena, age 60, found on Appleton Street in Lowell on February 28, 2006

· Augusto Degree, age 19, found in a second floor apartment of 251 Central Street in Lowell on December 15, 2006.

“These continue to be active homicide investigations and we are asking the public for their help in attempting to solve these two murders, District Attorney Leone said. I know our office and the Lowell Police will not give up until we have arrested the people responsible for these crimes, and we hope that these rewards will help lead to someone coming forward to assist us in our investigation.

The Lowell Police Department and the District Attorney Office continues to actively investigate both homicides. We understand the pain and anguish both families have endured. We will not rest until the perpetrators of both homicides are brought to justice, Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee stated.

Below are details on each case:

Hermes Pena

At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2006, Lowell Police responded to a parking lot on Appleton Street for a report of an unconscious man.  Upon arrival at the scene, they found Pena, evidencing multiple physical injuries.  He was transported to Saints Memorial Hospital in Lowell, and later to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  On Wednesday, March 8, 2006, Peña was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital.  On March 9, 2006, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (ME) completed its autopsy of Pena and ruled the death a homicide caused by head trauma. At this time, Police believe that Pena was severely beaten.

Augusto Degree

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 15, 2006, Lowell Police responded to the second floor apartment of 251 Central Street in Lowell for a report of an unresponsive male.  Upon arrival at the scene, police found the victim unconscious.  He was immediately transported to Lowell General Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. On December 16, the ME completed its autopsy of Degree and ruled the death to be a homicide by gunshot wound to the chest.

Crime Stoppers of Lowell, Inc. will pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s) responsible for the unsolved homicide of Hermes Pena and Augusto Degree. If you have any information on this or any other crime, please call: 978-459-TIPS (8477).

All callers remain anonymous. You will be assigned a code number. If the tip results in an arrest, the tipster can present the code number to a designated bank and then, if confirmed, is paid a cash reward.

Members of the public with information can also call the Lowell Police Department at 978-937-3242 or State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorneys Office at (617) 679-6600.

In September, the City Council approved a $2.2 million bond, which will allow the LPD to begin construction on a new, state-of-art E-911 and Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Since the original construction in 1996, there have been numerous state and federal mandates that have required major upgrades in these areas. In 2006 alone, there were 83,663 police and fire calls for service. In addition to handling all these calls, the E-911 Communications Center also processes officer requests for tows, warrant checks and RMV inquiries. The bond, along with a $200,000 grant awarded to the LPD from the Executive Office of Public Safety will allow the LPD to renovate the current garage and move both the E-911 and EOC there.

According to Officer Mark Trudel, “The new E-911 Communications Center and the EOC building will facilitate radio interoperability between local and regional radio networks, improve system performance and provide secure audio encryption designed to enhance officer safety.”

During the construction, the front desk area will also undergo some major changes. A security partition that will separate the front desk staff from civilians will be built to increase safety in that area. Additionally, an interview room will be added for those residents who need to speak confidentially to an officer. Presently, the LPD hopes to break ground in January. The renovations will take approximately 8-10 months.

Due to a state-wide mandate, on December 4, 2007, all 911 calls made in the City of Lowell by a cell phone began to come in directly to the LPD’s Communication Center. These calls will no longer go through the State Police Dispatch center and then back to the LPD’s Communications Center. During the month of November technicians from Verizon have worked with Officer Mark Trudel to update the current phone system.

TCI Inc. is conducting a fundraiser and will be contacting local businesses and residents to solicit money for a Program Book for a Comedy Show to be held in January. They will begin on 11/12/07 and end on 12/14/07.The calling hours will be from 9AM-8PM. Thank You. 

Last evening @approx. 6:21pm., Officers responded to Merrimack Liquors in Dracut to meet w/the victim of an armed robbery that took place in Lowell. Around 5pm, the victim was going to Jay’s Food Store on Gorham St. When he parked his vehicle on Charles St. and was about to get out,  a white female, approx. 35-40 yoa w/long black hair, wearing a blue shirt & blue pants approached the passenger side door, opened it and told him to get back in.  At this time, the suspect had a knife approx. 8″ long pointed at the victim. The suspect had the victim empty his wallet and then drive her to Dracut and drop her off around the Merrimack Liquors area, which he did.  At this point, she got out of the vehicle and ran, heading out Rt. 110. Both Dracut & Methuen Police were notified.

Please be advised that LHS has scheduled an evacuation drill for Monday (11/5/07) at 8:30AM. Students are to evacuate to Tsongas Arena. Expect additional congestion in the area around City Hall/JFK Plaza. Thanks.

Trick-or-Treating in Lowell this year will be on Wednesday, October 31st. from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  Everyone is asked to please be careful on the streets! The following link is available for safety tips! Happy Halloween!

http://www.allhallowseve.com/safety/index.html

Last night @approx. 21:50hrs., Officers were dispatched to Domino’s Pizza (682 Bridge St.) for an armed robbery. Suspect’s described as being 2 teenage males, both believed to be Asian, wearing black clothes, blue bandana’s covering their faces, gloves and baseball cap’s. Suspects were armed with both a knife as well as a handgun. Suspects fled the scene. One of the victims followed the m/v until they began shooting at him.  Two 45 caliber shell casings were recovered in front of 32 Hampshire St.   [Note: A CAD Call came in for GUNSHOTS stating 2 S/M’s were involved.]

Last night @approx. 19:36hrs, Officers responded to Frank & Ernie’s for a victim that had been robbed at gun point. Suspect was described as a dark skinned H/M with brown eyes, approx. 5’8”, 220lbs, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt & a black mask, came up and pointed a silver semi-automatic handgun at him all the victim’s money.  Victim stated that the male then grabbed his wallet & several scratch ticket and ran down Whipple St. towards Kinsman St.