Region Roundup: Fatal Car Crash; Taxi Bribery Scheme; Drug Arrests (And More...)

Sean Jackman, 24, of Stoughton, the driver in last weekend’s fatal car crash in Canton, was arraigned May 13 on multiple charges, including motor vehicle homicide and drunk driving.

Jackman was arraigned at Boston Medical Center, where was hospitalized following the single car crash, which killed the lone passenger in the vehicle, Evan Bard, a junior at Curry College.

Bard, 20, from Agawam, was killed instantly, officials said. She was a nursing student and was a member of Curry’s cheerleading team. Jackman suffered head injuries and "wore a neck brace and had several cuts on his face at the arraignment," CBS Boston reports.

At the request of Assistant District Attorney Melissa Brooks, Jackman was held on $500,000 cash bail, according to a release from the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. He pled not guilty to the charges.

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The Stoughton Police recently made a number of arrests for assault and battery and drug possession.

Click here for the details. 

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With the Stoughton Farmers Market set to open up for its first full season in a couple weeks, organizers have been busy preparing to make sure things are just peachy.

The market will open June 1 and will run every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 26. It is located in Stoughton Center at the Trackside Plaza lot, next to the Stoughton Commuter Rail Station.

In addition to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, there will be a variety of local bakeries, fresh seafood, organic cleaning products and an assortment of unique handcrafted items.

There will also be live music and activities for kids.

"This is the first full season of the Stoughton Farmers Market. Last year we 'previewed' the market with a one-day event in October. The response was amazing! Hundreds of people came and showed their support, and then afterwards shared their comments and ideas in order to help us plan this year's season," said Pamela Carr, Chair of the Stoughton Farmers Market Committee.

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Stoughton's Jake Hoffman Posthumously Honored by UMass Amherst

Stoughton’s Jake Hoffman would have graduated college on May 10, 2013, with a degree from the Isenberg School’s Department of Tourism Management at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

To the continuing sorrow of his family, friends, and everyone who ever met him, he was tragically killed in an off-campus apartment fire in Amherst on Jan. 21, at the age of 21. 

In a wonderful gesture by his University, his parents - Anne and Dave Hoffman -received his degree at the Isenberg School of Management Senior Celebration on Saturday morning, May 11.

Many of Jake Hoffman’s friends have wanted to do something in his name, since his untimely passing.   

Frank Faria, who graduated with Jake in the SHS Class of 2009, came up with the idea of having a soccer fundraiser. "Kick It 4 Jake" is scheduled to be held at the Stoughton Youth Soccer League fields on West Street on June 16.  

Click here for more details.  

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Four Stoughton Eagle Scouts - Stephen Zorn, Adam Lurie, and Nolan Fraine from Troop 516 and Nick Selby from Troop 88 - were recently honored during a Presentation Ceremony by the Rising Star Lodge of Stoughton.

Click here for the details. 

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The Norton Board of Selectmen approved a request from Sandra Oullette to memorialize her daughter Angel Pina, a 12-year-old Norton girl who died in a car crash on Route 24 in Stoughton last summer, with a memorial bench on Evergreen Beach in Norton.

“A lot of her friends hung out there [at the beach],” she said. “It was something special to the kids.”

Oullette said the funds for the bench have already been collected, and they just needed permission from the selectmen.

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Canton Man Indicted in Alleged Logan Airport Taxi Bribery Scheme

A Canton man was among five Massport employees indicted earlier this week by the Suffolk County Grand Jury for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for preferential treatment for taxi cab drivers picking up passengers at Logan Airport, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.

James Mulrey, 45, and the four others were named in a 53-count indictment.

Mulrey is accused of five counts of soliciting or accepting a bribe as a public employee and two counts of soliciting or accepting an unlawful gratuity as a public employee.

Cab drivers at Logan are supposed to line up in rows until they get their turn to enter a terminal cab stand staffed by a ground transportation unit agent, also known as a "cab starter." The indicted starters are accused of allowing the drivers to skip the line in exchange for bribes.

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