LAWRENCE, Mass.

Police say man fatally beat 3 of his elderly neighbors

A man charged with fatally beating three neighbors in a public housing complex for the elderly and disabled briefly interrupted proceedings at his arraignment Wednesday before he was ordered held without bail.

“That’s a mistake, judge,” Salvatore Guglielmino, 57, of North Andover said as the charges of three counts of murder and three counts of breaking and entering were read in Lawrence District Court..

Prosecutors say Guglielmino killed Walter Hamilton, 78; George Kettinger Jr., 79; and Frank Kort, 68, on Tuesday morning. The four men lived in different units in the same building.

The victims all had blunt force trauma injuries to their faces, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.

According to the police report, Guglielmino told his mother that he killed the men.

He told his sister, “I kicked down three doors and killed three people,” the report said.

Family members say Guglielmino was taking medications for manic depression and bipolar disorder.

Police say they had never had a problem with Guglielmino before.

LOWELL, Mass.

Man doused clerk with gas, displayed lighter, police say

Police have arrested a man they say doused a Lowell convenience store clerk with gasoline and threatened to set him on fire.

Police announced Wednesday that 30-year-old John Soiles was taken into custody about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of armed robbery while masked and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

Police released surveillance images of the suspect, and Capt. Thomas Kennedy said tips from the public were critical in making the arrest.

A man walked into Jerry’s Food Store carrying a small bottle filled with gasoline at about 7:20 p.m. Sunday, threw some gas on the worker and showed a cigarette lighter.

The man demanded money and fled with $800 to $900.

The clerk was not hurt.

SAELM, N.H.

Good Samaritan returns rifle that fell from police cruiser

Police in Salem have recovered a rifle that fell off a cruiser as an officer drove out of the police station parking lot.

The officer placed a black canvas bag containing the rifle on the trunk of his car while he prepared for duty Tuesday afternoon; he didn’t notice it was missing until eight hours later.

An extensive search turned up no sign of the weapon.

Police asked anyone who may have picked it up to return it – no questions asked – either to police or to a local gun shop.

A good Samaritan who saw the information Wednesday found it and turned it in to police.

Police said they are embarrassed by the failure to follow established procedures.

– From news service reports