BRENTWOOD, NH — A Rockingham County grand jury indicted the following people recently.

Francine Annesse Allen, 59, of Cove Road in Salem on a felony theft by unauthorized taking charge. She was accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart in Salem on Feb. 20 after being convicted on theft charges twice before.

Virgilio Ceballo Arias, 22, of Brookfield Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on receiving stolen property, concealing the identity of a vehicle, and two possession of altered, forged, or counterfeited title charges, all felonies. In Salem, on March 20, he agreed with Estuary Lanfranco, E.G., and Xaviel Rodriguez Torres to knowingly retain a stolen 2022 Honda CR-V, possessed a 2023 Acura TLX with a VIN removed, and possessed altered titles from New Jersey with the name of another person who did not own the vehicles listed, according to the indictments.

Daniel Joseph Banks, 54, of Milton Road in Rochester on three felony attempted falsifying physical evidence charges. He was accused of attempting to delete his LandAirSea GPS account on June 5, June 8, and June 9, 2023, in Portsmouth to impair an investigation.

Dannie K. Barrett, 54, of Middle Street in Portsmouth on three felony arson-pecuniary loss more than $1,000 charges. He was accused of starting dumpster fires on Jan. 25, Feb. 4, and Feb. 17 on Middle Street in Portsmouth, damaging property owned by Waste Management.

Melissa Ann Boucher, 35, of Myrtle Street in Manchester on bail jumping and two driving while being certified as a habitual offender committed while on release charges, all felonies, as well as a disobeying an officer charge. She was accused of providing a false name to a Salem police officer on March 12 and driving on Pelham Road. Boucher was also accused of driving in the North Broadway Crossing Plaza in Salem parking lot on March 4. On April 11, she failed to appear in Salem District Court, leading to the bail jumping charge.

Rebecca Christine Brown, 25, of Asbury Street in South Hamilton, MA, on possession of MDMA and possession of ketamine, both felonies, as well as driving under the influence on Interstate 95 in Hampton Falls on Jan. 25.

Rachel Marie Burlington, 35, of Marsh Lane in Hampton Falls on a felony count of unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle or rented property. She was accused of exercising unauthorized control over a 2021 Nissan Versa, owned by National Rental, between May 8 and June 2, 2021, in Londonderry.

Edwin Zayas Correa, 31, of West Lowell Avenue in Haverhill, MA, on possession of oxycodone and possession of fentanyl, both felonies, as well as driving under the influence and operating without a valid license charges. He was accused of driving on Interstate 93 in Londonderry while under the influence and possessing drugs on Jan. 30.

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) — Ever wondered where the shells of the oysters eaten in Atlantic City end up? 

It’s not a landfill. Instead, they’re returned to the place they were first scooped up. 

And now, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection plans to expand its program to recycle oyster shells after receiving more than $1 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Shell Recycling Program works by collecting used oyster shells from restaurants and casinos in Atlantic City before transporting them to a barge. Using high-powered water cannons, crews spray the shells off the barge into the Mullica River.

NJDEP fisheries biologist Scott Stueber said oysters need a hard base, like shells, to survive, and without enough shell, they can die.

Recycling oyster shells instead of throwing them away, Stueber said, helps New Jersey’s oyster population thrive.

“These are juvenile oysters all over a previously recycled oyster shell,” Steuber demonstrated. “So, you can see that’s one single shell with countless oysters all over it.”

This year, the NJDEP is expected to recycle more than 250 tons of oyster shells collected by restaurants and casinos, including from the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa.

“It’s really important to give back, not just to the community, but to the sea as well,” Deborah Pellegrino, executive director chef at the Borgata, said. “We respect food that we bring in. We know where it comes from and that we want to give back so that we can keep the food populated for the environment.”

Continuing problems

Even as gun violence rates decline, gun reform advocates say there is much more work to be done.

Gun deaths and injuries cost Pennsylvanians $1,692 on average per person in 2019, according to data from EveryTown. More than 1,900 Pennsylvanians died by gun violence in 2021, with 181 being children and teenagers.

State Rep. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin/Cumberland) said lawmakers should have acted on gun reform a long time ago.

“We cannot see another life go away because we can’t get it together,” she said.

Gun reform bills have stalled in the State Legislature this session. A Senate billintroduced by Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) that would create a state research center for gun violence has awaited movement since January 2023.

A House bill establishing a gun violence task force in counties that surpass a firearm-related death threshold has not moved since March 2023. The ACLU opposes the task force bill due to the potential for Pennsylvania to prosecute more gun violence cases, even though more firearm deaths in the state are a result of suicide than homicide.

Two House bills, one aiming to track firearms sales and the other banning multi-burst gun modifiers, failed to pass by one vote in May.

State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said as the State Legislature keeps gun reform “bottled up,” the state must fund organizations doing work locally.

“With the resources that this Commonwealth has, we need to be investing in organizations like yours and all the others that are around here that are doing the hard work but are doing it for nothing,” he said to Mariah Lewis, a gun violence survivor.

Lewis, now a med tech at a personal care facility in Palmyra, was shot in the face by her son’s father in 2021. She lost her left eye and now uses a prosthetic. Her attacker was spiraling after experiencing difficulty finding employment with a felony.

Kia Hansard, co-founder of nonprofit Concerned About the Children of Harrisburg, said that her organization helps provide immediate employment to people coming home from state correctional institutions regardless of conviction. Since opening in 2017, CATCH has found 544 people permanent employment.

Lewis founded Eye Choose Me, a nonprofit focused on domestic violence and gun reform, in 2022. Two years after its first meeting, she is still helping to fund the organization from her own pockets.

Money is not the only thing that can buy safe communities, according to Lewis. She emphasized the importance of outreach strategies and speaking to vulnerable people on the ground.

“Conversations are free,” Lewis said. “You going out into the community is free.”

CATCH co-founder Charla Plains said funding social services, including counseling services in schools, is integral to steering children away from gun violence. 

Shapiro’s budget would put $11.5 million toward after-school learning opportunities for children and $11 million toward building parks and improving shared spaces.

Carter acknowledged the importance of local organizations pushing for community connection because the Harrisburg police “just don’t have that trust.”

Philadelphia’s Citizens Police Oversight Commission reports 3 people killed by police from January to May 2024.

“When we are talking about gun violence, we cannot ignore the fact that gun violence also includes law enforcement violence,” Kia Hansard said.

Shapiro’s budget would invest $16 million to create four new Pennsylvania State Police cadet classes in an effort to aid understaffed local police departments.

Former Gov. Tom Wolf approved the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution Grant Program, which funds the investigation and prosecution of firearm-related violence. The program was funded by $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money.