A person linked to a sequence of armed robberies in Virginia and elsewhere pleaded responsible Monday to a 2015 theft in Spotsylvania County.
Michael J. Seltzinger, 34, of Brewster, Massachusetts, pleaded responsible to theft in Spotsylvania Circuit Courtroom. As a part of a plea settlement, prices of housebreaking and a firearms offense have been dropped.
Seltzinger will face a sentence of between 5 years to life in jail when he’s sentenced at a later date.
Advertisement
In keeping with court docket data, the Spotsylvania theft occurred Nov. 23, 2015, at Valero at 5116 Mudd Tavern Street.
Seltzinger positioned a Mountain Dew on the counter as if he was going to buy it. When the proprietor opened the money register, the defendant displayed a handgun and mentioned, “I’m not going to harm you, transfer again.”
The robber took $300 from the register tray and fled south on Interstate 95 in a small purple automobile.
Seltzinger was recognized because the robber after his fingerprints have been recovered from the soda he left behind. Courtroom data state that the theft was considered one of eight in Virginia tied to Seltzinger between Nov. 15 and Dec. 12 of that yr. The heists befell between Richmond and Fairfax County.
Individuals are additionally studying…
Advertisement
He was arrested in Brewster on Dec. 15, 2015, following an identical theft there.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Advertisement
kepps@freelancestar.com
Get the newest in native public security information with this weekly electronic mail.
It appears Russell and Linda Callahan are at it again.
The couple’s 20-year pattern of behavior was the focus of an NBC10 investigation last year. We documented how the “professional tenants” scammed small property owners in Worcester County and lived in homes without paying rent.
In the wake of our reporting, authorities charged the Callahans with several felonies, which are pending in Westborough District Court.
When we last caught up to the couple in February, they were being evicted from a large complex after racking up more than $12,000 in unpaid rent, according to housing court records.
Advertisement
The question was: Where would the Callahans land next?
We now have that answer.
Earlier this month, a property owner in Worcester, Jimmy, rented his newly constructed duplex to the couple. Jimmy did not want to use his full name because of his job and embarrassment about not doing more due diligence prior to signing the lease.
“I gave them the keys. I trusted them,” Jimmy said. “They looked professional.”
The Callahans are professionals, just not the type that Jimmy had hoped for as tenants.
Advertisement
Our investigation found they have been evicted more than 20 times in Massachusetts and Florida, with unpaid rent judgments surpassing well over $100,000.
Russell and Linda Callahan have an extensive record of evictions.
Victims we spoke with include a single mom, a couple saving to have their first child, and a veteran who was overseas on his first deployment with the Navy.
Our investigation also found the legal system repeatedly brushed aside the alleged crimes as “housing court matters.”
Jimmy said the Callahans told him they were in the process of buying a new house. Instead of running a background check that could affect their credit score, they asked if their mortgage broker could send Jimmy their financial records.
Advertisement
The documents arrived via secure message and Jimmy said they appeared to be legit.
“Everything looked really good,” Jimmy said. “Great background check. Great credit history. There was pretty substantial income between both of them.”
However, like other landlords we interviewed, Jimmy would later learn the documents were fake. By the time the Callahans were already inside the Worcester property, nearly $10,000 in rental checks bounced.
After repeated excuses about why the funds weren’t available, Jimmy said he got suspicious and decided to Google the Callahans. He was horrified to see a slew of NBC10 headlines about the “professional tenants.”
“I could not believe what had happened,” Jimmy said.
Advertisement
After speaking with Jimmy, the NBC10 Investigators checked out the property and saw Linda Callahan behind the wheel of a moving van.
NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
Linda Callahan outside a moving van in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Advertisement
Even though Jimmy said the couple had told him they would move out when he threatened to go to the police, we watched as Linda made herself at home, directing her adult son where to put the furniture.
Jimmy eventually went to the police to file a report. The case has been assigned to a detective who is investigating to see if criminal charges should be pursued, according to a Worcester police spokesperson.
New charges could have a potential impact on the Callahans’ pending case in Westborough District Court. Their next scheduled hearing is slated for June.
The Callahans did not respond to our questions about their new address when we approached them outside of court.
Advertisement
NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
Russell and Linda Callahan outside of court.
For now, Jimmy knows he is at the mercy of the housing court system in Massachusetts. He is in the process of filing an eviction, but knows that process can drag out for months.
The landlord said he has offered to pay for their move and get them housing for a week, just to get them out of his property.
“They keep promising they will move out,” Jimmy said. “It doesn’t look like they are going anywhere.”
Massachusetts Italian restaurant chain Bertucci’s has closed four restaurants in Massachusetts as it files for bankruptcy, once again.
Its Braintree location, on Franklin Street, has a notice put up announcing that it is “Permanently Closed” and directs customers to its locations in Hingham and West Roxbury.
“After two decades of serving this community, it is with heavy hearts that we announce our Bertucci’s Braintree location is permanently closed,” the notice states. “Thank you for your loyalty and support all these years.”
It’s the same story for its locations in Mansfield, North Andover and Norwood. The company’s website now lists only 10 locations in Massachusetts: Boston, Chelmsford, Chestnut Hill, Framingham, Hingham, Medford, Newton, Reading, Waltham and Westboro.
Advertisement
The restaurant once boasted some 80 locations in East Coast states. That that number has now dwindled to 16. In addition to the 10 Massachusetts locations, there is one location each in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia and two locations in Maryland, according to the company’s directory.
Bertucci’s Restaurants, LLC, started in Somerville’s Davis Square in 1981 and is now headquartered in Boston, according to its website. However, its corporate address according to the Thursday bankruptcy filing in federal court for the Middle District of Florida is in Orlando Florida. According to court records it filed for bankruptcy previously in 2018 and 2022.
The company estimates its debts to be in the range of more than $10 million to $50 million from 200 to 999 creditors against assets in the same range.
The restaurant was the 2024 Boston Pizza Festival’s People’s Choice Winner.
