News Notes: Police charge 2 in Bank of Canton robbery

By Mike Berger

Police arrested two suspects in connection with a Bank of Canton robbery that occurred on Monday, June 12, around 4 p.m. at the bank’s Route 138 branch, located at 259 Turnpike Street. Arrested on bank robbery charges were Joseph Parella of Norwood and Kimberly Ginewicz of Malden.

Police received a 911 call and responding officers interviewed a witness who gave Canton police the description and license plate number for the get-away car. Police broadcast the plate and a Stoughton police officer spotted the vehicle a short time later on Route 138 and made the traffic stop. Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz said all of the money was recovered and the investigation is still ongoing.

CPD to alert public in advance of traffic enforcement zones

The Canton Police Department, through the chief’s and the department’s Twitter accounts, plans to notify the public of the general areas where the police will be running traffic enforcement on a particular day. “We are hoping it will remind people to ‘slow down, they’re moving too fast’ in that particular area,” Chief Ken Berkowitz said. “We are hoping for voluntary compliance; our goal is always safety not citations, but we do realize that tickets also help to slow people down. I’m expecting more people will follow us to get the information and any other information that we put out through social media.”

CAASA Report: Carfentanil Danger

Fire Chief Charles Doody, chairman of the Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA), is alerting the general public to a dangerous narcotic substance that is becoming more prevalent across the U.S. and is being used as an additive in other illegal drugs such as heroin. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and is not approved for use in humans. It is extremely dangerous when ingested, inhaled, or even if it comes into contact with skin.

Carfentanil has been tied to recent fatal overdoses in New Hampshire and Maine, and just last week, the State Police Crime Laboratory identified three confirmed samples of the drug for the first time in Massachusetts. According to state health officials, first responders run the risk of being harmed by exposure to heroin containing carfentanil. Routine overdose calls that were traditionally treated with Narcan can quickly become a hazardous materials incident if the presence of carfentanil is detected.

Although there have been no reported cases in Canton as of yet, first responders have been advised to use caution and always utilize personal protection equipment such as gloves, protective goggles and masks when treating an overdose victim. In addition, they must be wary of their surroundings so they do not contact any residue or drug paraphernalia.

In other controlled substance news, EMS Coordinator Kevin Hurley reported no substance abuse emergency calls between June 5 and 12 …

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