Massachusetts
Former Massachusetts state employee charged with smuggling K2 to federal inmate
A former employee with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has been accused of smuggling K2-laced papers to a federal inmate.
Bridgewater woman Tasha Hammock, 43, is being charged with providing contraband to FMC Devens inmate Raymond Gaines, 45 — who had been granted clemency by President Joe Biden in the final days of his term in January.
Gaines, whose 2022 federal prison sentence for drug distribution had been cut, has now been indicted by a federal grand jury with possessing contraband by a prison inmate.
K2, a synthetic cannabinoid, has been a reported health problem at FMC Devens and other facilities. Inmates have become sick from smoking paper believed to contain K2, as well as prison staff who have been exposed to the secondary smoke.
Hammock was a program coordinator with MassDEP, where she took home more than $84,000 in 2023, according to state payroll records.
According to the feds, Hammock was visiting Gaines in the prison last Aug. 18 when she “surreptitiously passed K2-laced papers to Gaines, which he pocketed.”
Hammock also allegedly previously handled money connected with the distribution of K2 to Gaines in FMC Devens, and she allegedly received K2 at her residence for distribution into the prison.
Court records allege that law enforcement obtained a phone that had been smuggled to an inmate in the prison (“Inmate A”).
In September 2023, Inmate A allegedly sent messages on the cell phone to another person (“Person 1”), discussing obtaining K2 in prison.
Inmate A allegedly told Person 1 that the drugs could be delivered to a particular address in Bridgewater — later determined to be Hammock’s residence — and that Inmate A’s “co” would arrange for the drugs to be brought into the prison from there.
In 2022, Gaines was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Boston to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
At the time he committed the offenses, he was on federal supervised release after serving a prison sentence resulting from a 2017 conviction for distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school.
In both prior cases, Gaines was alleged to be an associate of the Orchard Park Trailblazers, a street gang in Boston.
Then on Jan. 17, Gaines received an Executive Grant of Clemency, reducing his current federal sentence to five years in prison.
Originally Published:
Medford native Maria Menounos hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ in Yarmouth
Medford native and celebrity Maria Menounos is hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ at Red Jacket Beach Resort & Spa in Yarmouth.
Looking for a beach where fellow beachgoers have good manners?
Travel website Exoticca conducted a survey and found the beach with the best beach etiquette in each state, including Massachusetts, so you can know the place where Bay Staters treat both the beach and each other with the most respect.
“We surveyed 3,011 Americans to find out where beachgoers are seen as having the best etiquette, and the results say quite a lot about what people actually want from a beach vacation,” Exoticca said.
In Massachusetts, voters said to head to the North Shore.
Crane Beach — Ipswich, Massachusetts
The extremely popular Crane Beach in the North Shore town of Ipswich was voted the best for beach etiquette by Exoticca’s readers.
Exoticca said that the places that scored the highest in positive beach etiquette were places where people focused on the clarity of the water and the beautiful scenery rather than external distractions like seaside restaurants or shops on the boardwalk, where “everyone around seems to understand that nobody wants the place spoiled.”
Crane Beach is known for its white sand and conservation. It’s one of the nesting places for piping plovers, according to The Trustees.
“To protect threatened shorebirds during your visit, we ask that you avoid the fenced nesting areas and the wrack, the line of washed-up organic debris where the birds feed and hide,” the Trustees said.
Despite having 350,000 people visit annually, according to the Trustees, Crane Beach still achieved the top spot of beach etiquette.
How to visit Crane Beach
Barring going on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or on Veterans’ Day for families with veterans, visitors do have to buy tickets for vehicle entry and parking. Tickets are cheaper if visitors arrive via motorcycle, biking, or walking.
“Strict rules apply: no drop-offs, re-entry for nonmembers, or outside food delivery; dogs and horses are not allowed April 1–September 30,” the ticket selection webpage said.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@usatodayco.com.
Massachusetts
Mass stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Cape Cod said to be largest in Massachusetts history
Rescuers were working to save around 30 bottlenose dolphins that got stranded off the coast of Cape Cod early Monday morning. It is the largest known stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Massachusetts, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
The dolphins had become stranded between First Light and Ellis Landing in Brewster at about 5:30 a.m. when they came in with the tide. A woman noticed the animals and reported it. The IFAW quickly responded to the area, but five to six of the marine mammals died before help arrived.
The IFAW worked throughout the day on Monday to get the mammals away from the shoreline before the next low tide at 5:13 p.m. They said late Monday afternoon that they were still successfully being steered away.
“Our team remains in the area to monitor and herd the animals away from shore,” an IFAW spokesperson said. “We know these events can sometimes repeat in the coming hours and days, but we remain hopeful.”
The organization said it had seen an uptick in bottlenose dolphins becoming stranded off Cape Cod in the last few years.
“Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species,” the spokesperson said.
They asked that anyone who encounters a stranded or distressed marine mammal not get close and never drag or push the animal back into the water.
“Similar to a person involved in a car accident, dolphins can become injured and exhausted during a stranding event,” the IFAW said.
Instead, they recommend calling their IFAW stranding hotline at 508-743-9548.
A man has died following an apparent drowning at a pond in Randolph, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
The Randolph police and fire departments received a 911 call at around 4 p.m. for a swimmer in distress in the water on Pond Street, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office..
Firefighters located the man a short time later, officials added, and he was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Kingston Fire Department had said just before 4 p.m. that their dive team was activated for a missing swimmer in Randolph, but that the activation was canceled after the swimmer was located.
Further information is not being released at this time, including the man’s name.
Massachusetts State Police detectives and the Randolph Police Department are investigating.
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