CHESTER – A “cabbage night” prank, which resulted in property damage valued at more than $1,000, has also resulted in criminal charges for five young hilltown residents.
State Trooper Joseph A. Tetrault, assigned to the Westfield barracks, reports, in a document filed in Westfield District Court in support of criminal complaints against the five young men, that the case began shortly before midnight on October 30, 2011 when he received a telephone call at the barracks from a trucker who had been eastbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike when a pumpkin struck the tractor trailer unit he was operating as it passed under the Chester Road overpass in Blandford.
The trucker, Roger D. Sparkman of Walkersville, Md., told Tetrault that, because of the cover of darkness, he was not able to determine the amount of damage to his tractor caused by the pumpkin’s impact but Tetrault quotes him as saying “It scared the hell out of me.”
Tetrault reports that Sparkman’s employer, Anthony Gabriel of Delhi, N.Y., subsequently informed him that the damage to the fiberglass body area near the sleeper compartment of the tractor would cost $1,385.64 to repair.
Tetrault reports that, after speaking with Sparkman, he traveled to the overpass in Blandford to examine the scene and observed smashed pumpkins in two areas of the eastbound travel lanes of the turnpike.
He also noted, “While there is adequate fencing to prevent objects from being thrown onto the interstate, obviously someone had succeeded in doing just that.”
Tetrault also reports that he found an iPod music listening device that “had been personalized by ‘Gabe Richardson’.”
By consulting Registry of Motor Vehicles information, Tetrault found that Gabrien T. Richardson, 17, of 127 County Road, Huntington, was a licensed driver.
Tetrault then enlisted the assistance of Trooper Mark Rogers of the Russell barracks, who serves as the school resource officer at Gateway Regional High School in Huntington that services, among other communities, Huntington, Chester and Blandford.
Rogers advised Tetrault that he is familiar with Richardson. He subsequently informed Tetrault that he had interviewed Richardson, who admitted that he had been on the overpass with several individuals who were all involved in the pumpkin throwing incident.
Rogers reported that he had obtained written statements from Richardson, as well as Sean E. Cook, 17, of 4 Lower Russell Road, Huntington, and Elias D. Kobylanski, 17, of 217 Route 20, Chester, about the incident.
Rogers reports he found that Richardson and Cook had gone to the residence of Craig M. Kovisto, 23, of 189 Route 20, Chester, where Kobylanski and David H. LaPointe, 18, of 33 Goss Hill Road, Huntington, were also present.
Tetrault reports that his investigation showed that “some beers were consumed” before the five young men traveled together to an unspecified residential neighborhood where “all five subjects were responsible for the theft of at least 4 pumpkins from homes in “celebration” of ‘cabbage night’ or ‘mischief night’.”
Tetrault reports that the young men then traveled to a restaurant in the service plaza on the westbound side of the turnpike to eat and agreed that, after they ate, they would go to the Chester Road overpass and “throw the pumpkins onto the highway in hopes of hitting vehicle’s traveling on the interstate.”
In interviews with five suspects, Tetrault found that four of the young men actually participated in throwing pumpkins from the overpass while the fifth, Kovisto, was “passed out” in the pickup truck they had been traveling in.
He found that Cook had been unable to throw his pumpkin high enough to clear the protective fencing on the overpass and “Kobylanski followed through with throwing Cook’s pumpkin.”
Kobylanski admitted, and others corroborated, Tetrault reported, that it was his pumpkin that struck the tractor operated by Sparkman.
Kobylanski stated in his statement to Tetrault that, when they saw the tractor-trailer unit pull over after the impact, the five youths got into the pickup truck and left the area.
Tetrault reports that three of the suspects – Richardson, LaPointe and Kobylanski – suggested that all five participants should be responsible for the cost of repairs to the tractor-trailer truck.
Tetrault found that some or all of the young men could be charged with malicious destruction of property valued more than 250, under Chapter 266 Section 127 of the Massachusetts General Laws, and conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property valued more than $250 under MGL Chapter 274 Section 7. In addition, the young men could be charged with violation of Massachusetts Turnpike Regulation 270 CMR 7.08 (24)(b), willfully dropping an article that may cause damage to property.
The young men were arraigned last week in Westfield District Court.
Kobylanski, who threw the pumpkin that struck the truck, was charged with all three crimes. Cook, Richardson and Lapointe were charged with the conspiracy charge and the violation of the Massachusetts Turnpike regulations while Kovisto, who had been asleep in the pickup when the pumpkins were thrown, only faces the conspiracy charge.
All five are scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 15.
Conviction on the malicious destruction charge carries a possible penalty of not more than two and a half years in jail and a fine of the greater of $3,000 or three times the value of the destroyed property.
The penalty for conviction of the conspiracy charge can be as much as imprisonment for two and a half years and/or a fine of not more than $2,000.
The penalty for the Massachusetts Turnpike regulations violation is a fine of not more than $100.
