Boston, MA

Maine man dies during high-speed chase

Published

2 years ago

October 5, 2024

A Maine man is dead after a high-speed pursuit involving a sheriff’s deputy ended in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer in Waterford earlier this week.

The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Thomas Welch, 42, of Porter, had died Monday following an incident on Route 93 southbound, otherwise known as Sweden Road.

According to the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Timothy Ontengco was engaged in a high-speed pursuit of a Honda Goldwing motorcycle around 10 a.m. on Sept. 30 when the motorcycle crossed the center line in the vicinity of Haskell Hill Road and crashed head on into a tractor trailer unit traveling northbound.

Sgt. Ontengco, along with witnesses, performed CPR and attempted to provided first aid to the motorcycle driver of the motorcycle, but those measures were unsuccessful and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The man was later identified as Welch. Officials say his motorcycle, a 1986 Honda GL1200, was registered out of New Hampshire.

The tractor trailer, a blue 2025 Peterbilt, was registered to Dube Environmental Inc. out of Sidney, Maine, and was being being driven by 52-year-old Shawn Witham.

Witham, of Rome, Maine, was not injured in the crash, police say. The tractor trailer, which was hauling sewerage from Fryeburg Fair, was disabled as a result of the crash. There were no environmental concerns, however, as the trailer was intact.

Officials have not said why Sgt. Ontengco was pursuing Welch on the motorcycle.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office, the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office, and the Maine State Police were notified of the fatality, which is in compliance with all required reporting procedures and Sheriff’s Office standard operating policies.

Several agencies are involved with the ongoing investigation of this motor vehicle fatality, the sheriff’s office said.

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Boston, MA

Despite Celtics loss, Jayson Tatum feels weight lifted after New York return

Published

8 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Despite Celtics loss, Jayson Tatum feels weight lifted after New York return

NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum was not looking forward to his first game back at Madison Square Garden since he ruptured his Achilles there last May.

He won’t remember the outcome fondly, either. The Celtics lost to the Knicks in a 112-106 nailbiter, missing out on a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

But regardless of the result, Tatum viewed Thursday night’s matchup as another important step in his comeback journey.

“It was a big moment, big hurdle for me,” he said. “I was nervous and anxious to come back here. Obviously, I wanted to win and play great, but more importantly, I just kind of wanted to walk off the floor on my own two feet.”

Tatum did that, delivering an uneven but productive performance in his 16th game of the season.

The good: He played a season-high 40 minutes and tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, narrowly missing what would have been his second triple-double in Boston’s last five games. The not-so-good: He shot the ball poorly (7-for-22; 2-for-10 from 3-point range), committed six turnovers and was a team-worst minus-16.

Despite the loss — just the Celtics’ third with Tatum in the lineup this season — he called the night a “huge” mental victory for him. He made the call earlier in the week to play in this game rather than Friday’s home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, which would have delayed his emotional MSG return until a potential Celtics-Knicks rematch in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Tatum admitted he was “not thrilled” about the prospect of returning to MSG, but he wanted to “face the challenge head-on” and remove one of the final pieces of mental baggage he’d been carrying since his injury. The anxiety he felt when he arrived at the arena for morning shootaround lingered past tipoff before eventually dissipating.

“Today was important to me, especially when I made the decision to come back and then made the decision to play today,” Tatum said. “I’m glad I did. I feel a lot better. Even (with) the loss.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum “looked good out there.”

“It looked comfortable,” Mazzulla said. “… Obviously a ton of emotions on a day like this, but once the game started, he kind of got in a game flow.”

Tatum now is likely to sit out against New Orleans, as he is not yet cleared to play on back-to-back nights. The Celtics can clinch the second seed by beating the Pelicans or the Orlando Magic in Sunday’s regular-season finale (both at TD Garden), or with a Knicks loss to the Toronto Raptors or Charlotte Hornets.

“I’m definitely checking off a lot of boxes,” Tatum said. “This was one of the last few. Obviously, playoffs coming up soon, but this is one of the ones that was at the top.”

Reserves Payton Pritchard (23 points, 10-for-20, six assists) and Baylor Scheierman (season-high 20 points, 7-for-8) starred in supporting roles for a Celtics team that was playing without top scorer Jaylen Brown. The Celtics got little offensive production from starters Derrick White and Sam Hauser, who scored a combined 14 points on 4-of-17 shooting in the loss.

The Celtics listed four-fifths of their starting lineup as questionable for Thursday’s game before upgrading White, Hauser and Neemias Queta to available. Brown was ruled out with Achilles tendonitis, the same ailment that sidelined him for wins over Atlanta and Charlotte late last month.

Jordan Walsh filled Brown’s spot, making his third start in the last seven games. Walsh sat through six consecutive DNP-CDs after Tatum’s return but recently reclaimed a spot in Mazzulla’s rotation. He spent much of the first half guarding Jalen Brunson, New York’s All-Star point guard, before getting in foul trouble and sitting for the final 20-plus minutes.

Knicks wing Mikal Bridges opened the game with a personal 7-0 run, but the Celtics responded by scoring 21 of the next 28 points. Tatum sparked that early rally with a steal and a fast-break layup, followed by a spinning and-one finish over Josh Hart and a drawn foul on another drive. He also lobbed an alley-oop to Queta, who added a putback off a missed Hauser 3-pointer and drew a foul on his second offensive rebound of the first quarter.

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta, left, and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Pritchard scored 11 points over the final five minutes of the opening period. Brunson countered with eight points in the final 63 seconds — free throws after a Walsh foul and two triples — to cut Boston’s lead to 29-26.

The Knicks built a five-point lead early in the second by capitalizing on a series of Nikola Vucevic miscues. The Celtics’ backup center allowed two makes at the rim by his counterpart, Mitchell Robinson, fouled Robinson on a lob and committed a turnover that led to a fast-break layup by Jordan Clarkson.

The Celtics were outscored by nine points during Vucevic’s first shift off the bench, continuing a trend that’s persisted since his return from a fractured ring finger last weekend. The trade-deadline pickup was a minus-15 in the first half Sunday against Toronto and a minus-11 in the first quarter Tuesday against Charlotte.

Vucevic eventually scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and finished as plus-1 in 24 minutes. The Celtics view his often choppy minutes as necessary to get him reintegrated before the postseason.

“(They’re) very important,” Pritchard said. “He just came back from an injury, so he’s been out for a while. New team. So it’s an adjustment period, and we don’t have time to practice and play against each other, so this is kind of our practice time with him. He’s being thrown out there in these moments, but it’ll make us better and ready for the playoffs.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens recently said Vucevic will benefit more than any other Celtic from the team’s upcoming weeklong break, which will afford him valuable practice time before the playoffs begin. He’s been Mazzulla’s go-to big behind Queta since his finger healed, resulting in three straight healthy DNPs for Luka Garza.

As Boston entered halftime down 54-53, Tatum was one rebound shy of a double-double — plus four assists and a block on an OG Anunoby 3-pointer — but hadn’t made a field goal since his pair of early-game layups (2-for-11; 0-for-5 from three). Pritchard was the Celtics’ top scorer and shooter in the first half, scoring 15 points on 7-of-12. The rest of the team shot just 32.4% from the field.

Walsh picked up his fourth foul two seconds into the second half, then surrendered a Bridges 3-pointer. New York proceeded to hit four of those in quick succession, mounting an 18-6 run to stretch its lead to 72-59.

That’s when the Celtics finally found their stroke from beyond the arc. Six 3-pointers from five different players — including Vucevic’s first two 3-point makes since March 4 — erased New York’s cushion and put Boston up 78-76.

Pritchard and Scheierman — who subbed in for Walsh at the 9:23 mark of the third and played the rest of the way — each hit two threes in the quarter, and the Celtics took an 83-81 lead into the fourth.

“It was a fun experience, obviously,” said Scheierman, a second-year pro who’s looking to cement his spot in Mazzulla’s playoff rotation. “I wish we could’ve won at the end of the day, (but) obviously, it was a lot of fun to do that.”

Tatum sat for the first 2:15 of the final quarter before checking back in and burying a 3-pointer moments later. He then converted an and-one fadeaway over Robinson that made it 92-85, only for New York to reply with a 7-0 run. Hart’s transition layup off a Tatum turnover tied it at 92-92 with 6:21 remaining.

Boston scored on five of its next seven possessions — including two more 3-pointers by the red-hot Scheierman, who went 6-for-7 from deep — but could not manufacture enough stops at the other end. Consecutive threes by Hart in the final minute iced the game for New York.

Hart finished with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers, with Brunson adding 25 and 10 assists.

“We’re just taking it a game at a time, “Pritchard said. “Obviously, we wanted this one. Didn’t get it. We’re looking forward to tomorrow and trying to get that win. Once that game’s over, we’ll look forward to the next.”

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Boston, MA

Family of Stephenson King, man killed by Boston police officer, wants body camera video released

Published

20 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Family of Stephenson King, man killed by Boston police officer, wants body camera video released

The family of Stephenson King, the man shot and killed by a Boston police officer last month in Roxbury, wants body camera video from the incident released.

King’s family joined high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump at a news conference on Thursday to call for “real accountability” in the case. They said King had long dealt with mental health issues and showed signs of schizophrenia and paranoia.

Shooting of Stephenson King

Investigators said Boston Police officer Nicholas O’Malley shot King three times through the driver’s side window of an allegedly stolen car while he was trying to escape from police.

O’Malley said that he fired because he believed King was trying to run him and his partner over with the car.

A Boston Police Department report after the shooting determined that “regardless of their perception, that statement was factually not true.” O’Malley was arrested and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Police said there is body camera video of the shooting, but it’s not being released yet. King’s family and several city councilors have called for the release of the footage.

Stephenson King.

Family photo

“We should be able to see it on the video”

Crump repeated that request Thursday.

“We want everybody to understand that transparency is good for everybody. If the officer did nothing wrong, then we should be able to see it on the video. If the officer did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video,” Crump said. “Consequently, if Stephenson did something wrong, we should be able to see it on the video. Because transparency is good for all of us. It’s good for the family, and it’s good for the Boston Police Department.”

Crump said that King had been struggling with mental health challenges since 2009. According to the attorney, King had mental health crisis the day of his death and his family had an ambulance come to the house and take him to the hospital. Crump said King somehow got out of the hospital and went to another medical facility in the hours before the encounter with Boston Police.

“Mental health is a very real issue. I pray that if you have family members who have mental health issues, when they have encounters with police, they will give them a helping hand and not three bullets in their body taking them from this world,” Crump said.

Stephenson King Sr. spoke at the news conference and said he had been trying to get his son help, even recently asking a judge to intervene.

“He shouldn’t be dead,” King Sr. said. “I’m hurt, disappointed in everything that’s happened. The day I put my son in an ambulance, I wasn’t expecting him to be dead that night.”

King’s sister Ebony said that before his death, her brother was so paranoid that he would put tape over cellphone cameras, wall outlets, and the emblems on his sneakers because he believed he was being watched.

Boston police officer hires Karen Read attorney

On Thursday, defense attorney David Yannetti announced that his firm will be representing O’Malley.

Boston Police Officer Nicholas O’Malley at his arraignment in Roxbury Municipal Court on March 19, 2026.

Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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Yannetti called O’Malley “a good man who finds himself falsely accused of manslaughter because he performed his sworn duty and defended his fellow officers when confronted by a dangerous criminal with an established history of violence and felonies.”

Yannetti was the first attorney to represent Karen Read during her high-profile Massachusetts murder trial. He remained a key member of her defense through both of her trials. After a mistrial due to a hung jury, Read was acquitted of all charges except operating under the influence during her retrial.

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