SANDWICH, Mass.

Man who dropped boulder on dinner train still at large

Police are looking for whomever dropped a 40-pound chunk of granite from an overpass onto a Cape Cod dinner train’s locomotive.

The boulder was dropped at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Sandwich as the Cape Cod Central Railroad’s Dinner Train was returning to Hyannis with nearly 200 diners and crew on board.

No one was hurt, but superintendent of passenger operations for the railroad, Jonathan Babbitt, told WXTK-FM that the locomotive’s main headlight and housing unit were broken.

The train rolled over the rock after it struck, but did not appear to incur additional damage. Babbitt called it a “serious offense” and a violation of federal law to tamper with a railroad.

Witnesses described a male suspect of about 20 years old.

PROVIDENCE, R.I

Two charged over theft of 119 trendy bracelets

Rhode Island State Police say more than $1,500 worth of trendy Alex and Ani bracelets were stolen and offered for sale on Craigslist.

Col. Steven O’Donnell said two Woonsocket men were arrested Thursday after unfinished bracelets that have not yet been sold to the public were spotted online for steep discounts.

Police said they traced the 119 bracelets to a larceny at a plating manufacturer that was doing work for Alex and Ani, a Cranston-based jewelry maker.

An employee of the company, 26-year-old Hector Bonilla, was charged with larceny over $1,500. Twenty-seven-year-old Manuel Pagan, who was allegedly trying to sell the bracelets, was charged with receiving stolen goods over $1,500.

The men were both arraigned and released on personal recognizance.

Armed intruders terrorized wrong couple, police say

A Rhode Island couple was terrorized by four armed, masked men who left their home after realizing they had targeted the wrong people.

WPRI-TV reported Friday that the two Coventry residents were asleep in their home on Hill Farm Camp Road when the men broke in late Thursday night.

Coventry police said the armed intruders, who were wearing black clothing, ski masks and gloves, tied up the couple but left when they realized they had broken into the wrong home. The couple was uninjured.

Police said they’re investigating the incident.

DALTON, Mass

Police shoot and kill one of two dogs that bit man

Police have shot and killed one of two dogs that attacked a Dalton man and sent him to the hospital with bite wounds to his face and the left thigh.

Police said the man in his 30s was attacked outside his home at about 4 p.m. Thursday.

One female and one male dog burst out of a nearby apartment and bit the man.

Police told The Berkshire Eagle they shot the male because it continued to act aggressively and capturing it was too risky. The female was taken to a shelter.

There was no immediate word on the breed, but they appeared to be pit bull types.

The dogs’ owner was not home at the time. Police are still trying to determine whether charges are warranted.

WINDHAM, Vt.

Agency opposes proposal for wind-testing towers

The Vermont Department of Public Service is opposing construction of wind-testing towers in Windham as contrary to town regulations.

The Brattleboro Reformer reported that the agency’s objection does not end the process. The state’s Public Service Board must rule on the Atlantic Wind LLC’s proposal.

Atlantic Wind requested a certificate of public good from the state to erect three meteorological testing towers — two in Windham and one in Grafton. The towers could be the precursor to Windham County’s first commercial wind turbine site.

Grafton officials have not taken a position request, but Windham officials have argued that the town plan prohibits wind development. Atlantic Wind argues the plan is advisory only.

WORCESTER, Mass.

Newly retired bus driver cited in pedestrian’s death

A former bus driver with a central Massachusetts public transit agency has been cited for motor vehicle homicide in connection with the death of a pedestrian in Worcester last month.

Police said 70-year-old Edward Rossi Jr. of Shrewsbury was also issued citations for driving to endanger and failure to use care while turning.

Authorities said Rossi was driving a Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus on a rainy Sept. 28 night, which struck 68-year-old Linda Sneed. Sneed later died at the hospital.

Police said the bus was inspected and found to be in good working order.

The general manager of the transit agency told The Telegram & Gazette that Rossi was “distraught” after the accident. He was taken off the road during the investigation and has since retired.

NEWTON, Mass.

Mayor fires police chief over comments to women

Newton’s police chief has been fired for making what were deemed inappropriate comments to women who worked for the department.

Matthew Cummings was fired Thursday by Mayor Setti Warren following a six-hour hearing that featured several witnesses. Cummings did not testify on his own behalf.

Cummings has been with the department in the affluent Boston suburb for 30 years and has been chief since 2009.

An independent investigator concluded that the 57-year-old Cummings made derogatory remarks toward women in the department, including his former secretary, and at one point kicked her foot. He was also accused of calling a pregnant employee “fat.”

The secretary who made the complaints was charged with stealing from the department.

Cummings’ lawyer said the decision will be taken to arbitration.

BOSTON

Rwandan woman gets time in prison for lying

A Rwandan woman who came to the United States in 2004 has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for lying to U.S. immigration authorities about her ties to the 1994 genocide in the African nation.

The Boston Globe reported that 47-year-old Prudence Kantengwa was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston.

She was convicted in May on charges of immigration document fraud, visa fraud, perjury during testimony before an immigration judge, and obstruction of administrative proceedings.

Federal prosecutors said Kantengwa did not participate directly in the atrocities, but she at one point failed to disclose her prior affiliation with a political party that played a prominent role in the killings, and lied about her family’s connections to the genocide.

LONDONDERRY, N.H.

Family of four charged with stealing apples

A Quincy, Mass., family faces charges of stealing a trunkload of apples from a local orchard.

Police told WMUR-TV that 58-year-old Hang Wong bought a large U-Pick bag from Mack’s Apples, then stood by the family car with her husband, 57-year-old Tony Wong, while their two sons loaded the trunk with apples.

A farm attendant alerted police.

Police said they found the two sons, 27-year-old Wai Wong and 19-year-old Steven Wong, going into the orchard, loading up the bag and dumping apples into the trunk as their mother and father watched.

Police charged the four with theft by deception.

MONTPELIER, Vt.

PAC removes online ads that featured state’s seal

A political action committee has taken down two online ads after learning that it is illegal to use the state seal in an advertisement.

The Burlington Free Press reported that the state elections director notified the Vermonters First PAC on Wednesday that violating the state law carries a penalty of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

— From news service reports