Grease theft in Auburn ends with arrest of man wanted by U.S. Marshals

Two people Auburn police caught taking used cooking oil from a restaurant dumpster included a man wanted on a federal warrant, according to the Auburn Police Department.

Officers responded to Auburn Plaza at about 5:37 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, after a T.J. Maxx employee reported two people removing used cooking oil from a dumpster behind Jasmine Restaurant, police said. The pair drove off in a van before officers arrived.

Officers searched the surrounding area and soon found a van police described as suspicious behind Chili’s on Southbridge Street. Inside were large containers used to collect cooking oil, including one already partially filled. Police said neither restaurant had given anyone permission to take the oil.

Both people in the van gave officers several different names during the investigation, according to police. Officers eventually identified them as Joseph Reyes Rodriguez, 19, and Carlos De Leon, 46, both of Worcester.

Further investigation showed De Leon had an active arrest warrant from the U.S. Marshals Service out of Virginia, police said. The department did not release details about the case behind the warrant.

The department took a lighthearted tone in announcing the arrests.

“We’re certainly not in the business of giving career advice to fugitives, but if federal authorities are looking for you, driving around Auburn at 5:30 in the morning stealing cooking oil might not be the best strategy for staying under the radar,” the department wrote.

Police also had fun with the arrest location: “Usually, a trip to Chili’s ends with us taking a Triple Dipper to go. This time, we took a wanted fugitive to go.”

Police arrested Reyes Rodriguez and De Leon and charged each with larceny under $1,200, attempted larceny and conspiracy.

The department credited Officers Donahue, Lareau, Montague and Ortiz, Detective Ryan and Sgt. Wildman, writing that their teamwork “turned a report of suspicious activity into two arrests and the identification of a fugitive wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service.”

All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Paxton fire vehicle crashes near Paxton Center School while responding to call

A Paxton Fire Department vehicle crashed near Paxton Center School shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, while responding to an emergency on West Street, the department said.

The department member driving the fire vehicle suffered minor injuries and went to a local hospital for evaluation, as department policy requires. The department reported no other injuries.

Tow trucks removed both damaged vehicles from the scene. On-duty crews handled the original West Street call without interruption, according to a department news release.

The crash snarled traffic in the area for a time. Paxton Center School, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school at 19 West St. in the Wachusett Regional School District, briefly changed its parent drop-off procedures while emergency responders and investigators worked the scene. The department said school operations otherwise ran normally.

The Paxton Police Department is investigating the crash. The Fire Department will also conduct its own internal review under department policy to evaluate the incident and look for ways to improve responder safety.

Beyond emergency calls, the department used the damaged vehicle for administrative and fire prevention work, including inspections. Despite the damage, the department said the crash has not affected its ability to serve the community.

The town is working with its insurance carrier to assess the damage and decide whether to repair or replace the vehicle.

The department did not identify the member who drove the fire vehicle or the driver of the second vehicle, and it did not say what caused the crash. The release also did not say what type of vehicle the department member drove or whether its emergency lights and siren were on at the time.

The Fire Department thanked the agencies that helped manage the scene and keep the public safe.

Image credit Paxton Fire Department/Facebook

Worcester State wins state grant to build paid co-op program

Worcester State University will design a paid cooperative education program with help from a state grant announced Friday, Nov. 6. The first students could begin placements in the 2027-28 academic year.

The state awarded a combined $60,000 to Worcester State and UMass Dartmouth. Worcester State plans co-ops in municipal and cultural affairs, chemistry and biotechnology, and early childhood education. UMass Dartmouth will focus on allied health and health care, with placements across the South Coast.

A co-op places a student in a full-time, paid job tied to the student’s field of study for four to eight months. At UMass Lowell, which runs the leading co-op program among the state’s public universities, students on six-month co-ops earn an average of $20,714 during the work term, according to the governor’s office.

“We are excited to receive this state investment in the development of Worcester State’s co-op program,” Worcester State President Barry Maloney said. He said the grant would help the university build a co-op model that connects students with employers and the surrounding community.

Maloney outlined early plans in a letter in the spring 2026 issue of Worcester State Magazine. He wrote that the university was planning three municipal co-ops with the city of Worcester, each pairing the urban studies major with a different minor through the university’s MajorPlus framework. He also wrote that the School of Science, Technology and Health had begun using employer partnerships to set up paid work experiences in several departments.

The money comes from the Massachusetts Cooperative Education Initiative, a partnership between the Department of Higher Education’s Innovation Hub and UMass Lowell. The state opened this “Fast Follower” grant round in July for public four-year campuses.

Earlier this year, the initiative awarded $210,000 in “First Mover” grants to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Bridgewater State University and Framingham State University. The two new grants bring the number of participating campuses to five.

Over the next year, Worcester State and UMass Dartmouth will build academic programs and employer partnerships, recruit students and plan how to keep the co-ops running long term. UMass Lowell will provide technical assistance and coaching, and both campuses will join statewide peer learning sessions.

Gov. Maura Healey said co-ops let students earn money and build ties with employers before they graduate, which helps keep talent in Massachusetts. “Paid co-ops give students the chance to put what they’re learning into practice,” Healey said.

Interim Commissioner of Higher Education José Luis Santos called the growth from three campuses to five a step toward a statewide co-op model.

The Department of Higher Education launched the Innovation Hub in 2025 with a $2.1 million grant from the nonprofit Axim Collaborative. The hub tests new approaches to college access and student success and expands the ones that work. Expanding co-ops ranks among its top priorities.

Image courtesy of Worcester State University

Mass. Immigration Courts Issuing Removal Orders for Kids

Ascentria Care Alliance staff and foster parents urged lawmakers Thursday, Nov.5, to halt deportation orders against immigrant youth in the Worcester nonprofit’s care. U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., promised hearings once Democrats take over Congress in January.

Ascentria runs the only foster care program in Massachusetts for unaccompanied refugee and immigrant children. Speakers at the press conference said immigration judges have begun ordering many of those youth deported, including teens the federal government already approved for humanitarian protection.

“I never thought they’d come for the kids,” said Angela Bovill, Ascentria’s president and CEO. “How is it that we could do that to kids?”

Bovill said federal money for Ascentria’s legal assistance program has been stopped and cut repeatedly this year.

Approved status no longer a shield

Angela Snyder, supervising attorney for Ascentria’s immigration legal assistance program, said judges now order removal for youth who hold Special Immigrant Juvenile classification, a protection Congress created in 1990 for children who suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect.

To qualify, a child need findings from a state juvenile or probate court that returning home would not serve the child’s best interest. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must then approve the petition. Because of visa backlogs, approved youth often wait years before they can apply for a green card.

Snyder said courts used to treat that approval as a valid reason to hold off on enforcement. She described a “system-wide degradation of the benefits available to these youth” and said the asylum office has also moved interviews up on purpose.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memo April 10 ending its 2022 practice of automatically considering deferred action, a temporary shield from deportation, for approved Special Immigrant Juveniles waiting on visas.

Snyder said the shift confuses her clients. Her team tells them they followed every step correctly, then has to explain why a judge still ordered them removed.

The Shoestring reported that Massachusetts immigration courts ordered 62 people who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied children deported last month, holding 168 hearings for unaccompanied minors between August and October.

‘Am I safe yet?’

Grace, a foster parent since 2020 who gave only her first name, said one of her sons has received a removal notice. The morning after the Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm elections, he woke up early, sat down to his usual breakfast of eggs and asked her, “Am I safe yet?”

“Not yet, baby. We’re not there yet. But we have hope,” she said she told him.

Grace said a state court and the federal government have both found it unsafe for youth like her son to return home. She asked legislators to pass protections and stop the deportations, with work permits for the youth in the meantime. Many unaccompanied youth live in group homes or independent living and have no adult to advocate for them, she said.

Sanam Zaer, whose family has fostered young people through Ascentria for about six years, said the program long drew bipartisan support.

“I am not here to validate the presence of my foster children in this country with a list of their accomplishments or to showcase their personal traumas to elicit your sympathy,” Zayer said. “I am here to simply remind you of their humanity.”

McGovern cites removal data

McGovern called the administration’s approach toward immigrant children “depraved” and said he felt ashamed of federal immigration policy.

He cited figures from the Acacia Center for Justice, which found the removal order rate for unaccompanied children averaged 28% under the Biden administration, rose to 48% in 2025 and reached 69% in the first eight months of 2026. Ascentria staff told him most of the unaccompanied children they serve now have removal orders, McGovern said, and the youngest is 14.

He also criticized the federal government for letting its legal services contract for unaccompanied children lapse this summer. The contract with Acacia and its network of nearly 100 nonprofit legal providers expired July 31, according to the center.

“These kids are at risk of being deported before their humanitarian claims are even heard,” McGovern said.

Democrats won control of the Senate and the House in the midterms, according to The Associated Press. The new Congress convenes Jan. 3, 2027. McGovern said he plans to work with the judiciary and oversight committees on hearings and legislation, including restored funding for legal services.

Short-term relief sought

During questions, a foster parent pressed McGovern on youth already facing fast removal timelines. He said comprehensive immigration reform would take time and promised to talk with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, about ways to slow the deportations.

Another attendee pointed to a recent letter signed by about 60 legislators that the attendee said helped temporarily halt the transfer of Afghan allies to Pakistan. The attendee asked whether lawmakers could take the same step for the children.

McGovern said he would work with Ascentria on a short-term response and share a strategy with advocates within days. He also said about four Republican colleagues had called him since the election to say they want to work together.

“When it comes to kids, I mean, this should be a no-brainer,” he said.

Lead image: Rep. Jim McGovern(L) and Ascentria president and CEO Angela Bovill (R)

Mass. expands child care aid to about 2,100 more children

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration will spend $31.2 million to help about 2,100 more Massachusetts children get financial help to pay for child care, state officials announced Thursday, Nov. 5.

The money comes from the fiscal 2026 Fair Share supplemental budget, which Healey signed earlier this year. Fair Share revenue flows from the 4% surtax on high earners that voters approved in November 2022.

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) will use the funding to add contracted child care seats and issue more vouchers to families on the waitlist for Income Eligible Child Care Financial Assistance. EEC plans to roll out the help in phases and will reach families who have waited longest first, including those an earlier round of funding did not reach.

Healey said the state is “moving families off the waitlist, creating more child care opportunities across the state.”

Part of the expansion targets the child care workforce. More than 2,000 children of early education and care staff sit on the statewide waitlist, and EEC expects to help about 580 of them, roughly one in four currently active on the list.

Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland, said the aid “will give young families peace of mind during turbulent economic times.”

Sen. Jason Lewis, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Education, credited the Fair Share Amendment and its revenue from the state’s highest earners for the funding.

“Expanding child care is one of the most valuable investments we can make,” said Rep. Ken Gordon, House chair of the education committee.

What Worcester-area families should know

Families already on the waitlist do not need to apply again. EEC will work with regional Child Care Resource and Referral agencies and contracted providers to contact families as seats and vouchers open up.

In Worcester and much of Central Massachusetts, that agency is Child Care Resources, run by Seven Hills Family Services at 799 West Boylston St. Families can call the office at 508-796-1821 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Families in other communities can find their local office through the state’s CCR&R directory.

Families not yet on the list can still apply. The administration earlier raised the income limit for the program from 50% to 85% of the state median income, which opened eligibility to more households.

Parents can apply through MyChildCareMA, EEC’s multilingual online portal. The site lets families upload documents, track an application and respond to funding offers from a phone or computer. EEC posts eligibility rules and application guidance on its Child Care Financial Assistance page.

Worcester police arrest woman on fentanyl, crack cocaine trafficking charges

Worcester police arrested a 52-year-old city woman Tuesday, Nov. 3, after officers said they watched her sell drugs twice on Oread Street.

Police charged Jodi Barria with trafficking more than 10 grams of fentanyl, trafficking 18 to 36 grams of a Class B substance and distribution of a Class B substance, crack cocaine.

Officers from the Worcester Police Department’s Neighborhood Response Team responded to Oread Street for a drug violation at about 7:49 p.m., according to a department news release issued Wednesday, Nov. 4. Officers said they saw Barria take part in two drug transactions before they approached her.

Barria told an officer she kept drugs in her bra, police said. Officers arrested her along with the two people they saw buying drugs from her.

Police did not release the names of the two buyers or the charges they face.

Back at the police station, officers searched Barria more thoroughly. They found 52 individually packaged bags of fentanyl and 28 individually packaged bags of crack cocaine, according to police. Officers also found a large amount of cash in her purse.

The release did not say how much money police seized or when Barria will appear in court.

Editor’s note: The information provided in this report is based on recent events as described by the police. The claims within are allegations by police, which may be challenged by the accused in court.

See the Current Status of 2026 Election Results in Worcester County

On an election night with dramatic victories for candidates in the Democratic Party across the country, the races for Governor and U.S. Senator were called for Maura Healey and Ed Markey soon after polls closed. Seven of nine ballot questions before Massachusetts voters were called overnight, with two still too close to call.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, across the county’s 60 cities and towns. Results below remain unofficial and reflect races called by the Associated Press (AP) as of 8:45 AM on Wednesday, Nov.4. We will update this story as final preliminary totals become available.

Candidate names below come from the state’s official 2026 State Election candidate list. An (i) marks an incumbent. The highlights represent AP decisions on calling victories for ballot question decisions and candidates. The lack of a highlight indicates the AP has not called the race at the time of publication.

When available, the final preliminary voting totals will be updated accordingly.

Totals for the city of Worcester indicated where appropriate.

Statewide ballot questions

Questions 1 through 8 ask voters to approve proposed laws. Question 9 works the other way: a yes vote keeps the 2024 firearms law and a no vote repeals it. The state’s Information for Voters booklet carries the full text of each question.

According to the AP, 89% of precincts have reported results.

Question 1: Expanding the public records law

A yes vote brings most records of the Legislature and the governor’s office under the state public records law.

• Statewide: Yes 85.9%, No 14.1% — PASSES
• Worcester: Yes 38,744 (84.9%), No 6,903 (15.1%])

Question 2: Collective bargaining for CPCS employees

A yes vote lets employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defender agency, unionize and bargain collectively.

• Statewide: Yes 64.1%, No 35.9% —PASSES
• Worcester: Yes 31,737 (70.4%), No 13,377 (29.7)

Question 3: State primary elections

A yes vote replaces party primaries for state offices with a single all-candidate primary, with the top two finishers advancing to November.

• Statewide: Yes 38.9%, No 61.1% — FAILS
• Worcester: Yes 18,908 (41.4%), No 26,733 (58.6%)

Question 4: Election Day registration

A yes vote lets eligible residents register or update their address at their polling place on Election Day.

• Statewide: Yes 56.3%, No 43.7% —PASSES
• Worcester: Yes 29,194 (63.7%), No 16,654 (36.4%)

Question 5: State revenue limit and rebate

A yes vote ties the state’s annual revenue cap to the prior year’s revenue plus wage growth and returns collections above the cap to taxpayers.

• Statewide: Yes 48%, No  52% — FAILS
• Worcester: Yes 22,926 (49.57%), No 23,328 (50.43%)

Question 6: Natural resource conservation fund

A yes vote creates a Nature for All Fund that receives some state taxes on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses.

• Statewide: Yes 60.8%, No 39.2% — PASSES
• Worcester: Yes 29,827 (64.7%), No 16,309 (35.4%)

Question 7: Single-family homes

A yes vote allows single-family homes on residential lots of at least 5,000 square feet with public water and sewer, while cities and towns keep some control over height, setbacks and parking.

• Statewide: Yes 1,254,594; 49.3%, No 1,287,727; 50.7% — Too Close
• Worcester: Yes 26,891 (59.1%), No 18,448 (40.9)

Question 8: Retail sale of recreational marijuana

A yes vote repeals the law that legalized, regulated and taxed retail sales of adult-use marijuana. The Worcester City Council passed a resolution opposing the question, citing city revenue.

• Statewide: Yes 24.4%, No 75.6%  –FAILS
• Worcester: Yes 11,387 (24.9%), No 34,279 (75.1%)

Question 9: Firearms regulation

A yes vote keeps the 2024 law that expanded firearms regulation, including rules on ghost guns, assault-style weapons and extreme risk protection orders. A no vote repeals it.

• Statewide: Yes 66.9% No 33.1% — Law STAYS
• Worcester: Yes 32,570 (69.5%), No 14,289 (30.5%)

Governor and statewide offices

Governor and lieutenant governor

• Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll (D) (i): (62.1%)
• Michael Minogue and Shawn Oliver (R):  (34.6%)
• Andrea James and Kayla Kittredge (Independent): (3.4%)

Worcester: Healey 66.7%, Minogue 28.6%, James 4.3%.

Oliver suspended his campaign in October after an OUI arrest, but his name stayed on the ballot beside Minogue’s. Minogue said Oliver would not serve as his lieutenant governor.

Attorney general

• Andrea Joy Campbell (D) (i): (65.5%)
• Michael C. Walsh (R): (34.5%)

Worcester: Campbell 71.1%, Walsh 28.7%

Secretary of the Commonwealth

• William Francis Galvin (D) (i): (71.2%)
• Anne R. Brensley (R):  (28.8%)

Worcester: Galvin 76.21%, Brensley 23.7%

Treasurer

• Deborah B. Goldberg (D) (i): (65.8%)
• Elizabeth Dionne (R):  (34.2%)

Worcester: Goldberg 71.9%, Dionne 27.9%

Auditor

• Diana DiZoglio (D) (i):  (84%)
• Al Ozonoff (Libertarian): (16%)

Worcester: DiZoglio 84.9%, Ozonoff 14.1%

U.S. Senate

94% reporting

• Edward J. Markey (D) (i): (63.3%)
• John Deaton (R): (32.2%)
• Shiva Ayyadurai (Independent): (2.3%)
• Joe Tache (Socialism and Liberation): (2.2%)

Worcester: Markey 67.8%, Deaton 26.5%, Ayyadurai (2.3%), Tache  (3.3%).

U.S. House

Four congressional districts reach into Worcester County, according to the state’s congressional district map.

2nd District (Worcester and most of the county)

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern (D) (i) ran unopposed and won another term.

1st District (Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, the Brookfields and nearby towns)

• Richard E. Neal (D) (i): (65.2%)
• Nadia Milleron (Independent): (34.8%)

3rd District (Fitchburg, Gardner, Clinton and north county towns)

• Lori Trahan (D) (i): (66.2%)
• Gary J. Grossi (R):  (31.2%)
• Dennis R. Conlon (Unenrolled): (2.6%)

4th District (Milford, Hopedale, Mendon, Blackstone and Millville)

• Jake Auchincloss (D) (i): (64.7%)
• Thomas Stalcup (R): (35.3%)

Governor’s Council

7th District (most of Worcester County)

• Paul M. DePalo (D) (i), of Worcester: (62.1%)
• Margaret M. Abboud (R), of Worcester:  (37.9%)

Worcester: DePalo 73.4%, Abboud 26.3%

2nd District (includes Milford)

• Tamisha L. Civil (D):  (63.9%)
• Francis T. Crimmins Jr. (R): (36.1%)

Two other councillors ran unopposed in districts that include county towns: Mara Dolan (D) (i) in the 3rd District, which covers Harvard and Southborough, and Tara J. Jacobs (D) (i) in the 8th District, which covers Ashburnham, Athol, Petersham, Royalston, Warren and Winchendon.

State Senate

District lines come from the state’s Senate district list.

Worcester and Hampshire District

Barre, the Brookfields, Gardner, Hardwick, Holden, Hubbardston, Leicester, New Braintree, Oakham, Paxton, Phillipston, Princeton, Rutland, Spencer, Sterling, Templeton, Westminster and parts of Worcester.

• Peter J. Durant (R) (i), of Spencer: 36,788 (54%)
• Shannon M. Teabo (D), of West Brookfield: 29,663 (46%)

Worcester: Durant 36.75%, Teabo 63.0%

Worcester and Middlesex District

Fitchburg, Leominster, Clinton, Lancaster and Lunenburg, plus Middlesex County towns.

• John Cronin (D) (i), of Fitchburg: (79.7%)
• Ming Zhang (Unenrolled), of Westford: (20.3%)

Middlesex and Worcester District

Harvard and Southborough, plus Middlesex County communities.

• James Bradley Eldridge (D) (i), of Marlborough: (71.1%)
• Joseph Timothy Shea (R), of Acton:  (28.9%)

Unopposed senators

• 1st Worcester (Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Northborough, West Boylston and parts of Worcester): Robyn Kennedy (D) (i)
• 2nd Worcester (Auburn, Grafton, Millbury, Shrewsbury, Westborough and parts of Worcester): Michael O. Moore (D) (i)
• Worcester and Hampden (Blackstone Valley and south county towns, including Webster, Oxford, Southbridge and Sturbridge): Ryan C. Fattman (R) (i)
• Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester (Ashburnham, Athol, Petersham, Royalston and Winchendon): Joanne M. Comerford (D) (i)
• Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester (Warren): Jacob R. Oliveira (D) (i)
• Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex (Milford): Rebecca L. Rausch (D) (i)

State House

District lines come from the state’s House district list. Two seats opened when Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, R-Holden, and Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner, chose not to run.

1st Worcester (Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Westminster): open seat

• Krista Suzanne Ferrante (D), of Princeton: (53.3%)
• Stephanie R. Mulroy (R), of Holden:  (46.7%)

2nd Worcester (Ashburnham, Gardner, Templeton, part of Winchendon): open seat

• Michael Joseph Nicholson (D), of Gardner:  (55.7%)
• John D. Reilly Jr. (Unenrolled), of Ashburnham: (44.3%)

4th Worcester (Leominster)

• Natalie Marie Higgins (D) (i):  (61.4%)
• Josh William Bowdridge (R):  (38.6%)

6th Worcester (Charlton, Dudley, Southbridge, part of Spencer)

• John J. Marsi Jr. (R) (i), of Charlton:  (58.3%)
• Jeanne Renaud Costello (D), of Charlton: (41.7%)

7th Worcester (Auburn, Millbury, parts of Charlton, Leicester and Oxford)

• Paul K. Frost (R) (i), of Auburn: 9,615 (49.8%)
• Nicholas Lazzaro (D), of Millbury: 8,457 (43.8%)
• Terry Burke Dotson (Independent), of Millbury: 1,252 (6.5%)

12th Worcester (Berlin, Boylston, Clinton, Lancaster, Sterling, part of Northborough)

• Meghan Kilcoyne (D) (i), of Clinton: (62.8%)
• Lisa K. Mair (R), of Berlin: (39.2%)

18th Worcester (Douglas, Sutton, Webster, parts of Oxford and Uxbridge)

51% reporting, McKenna declared victory. Heck conceded.

• Joseph D. McKenna (R) (i): (57.4%)
• Jenifer Heck (D), of Sutton: (42.9%)

1st Middlesex (includes most of Lunenburg)

95% reporting, Scarsdale declared victory.Lyons conceded.

• Margaret R. Scarsdale (D) (i), of Pepperell: (60.9%)
• Christopher M. Lyons (R), of Ashby: (39.2%)

Unopposed representatives

• 3rd Worcester (Fitchburg, part of Lunenburg): Michael P. Kushmerek (D) (i)
• 5th Worcester (Barre, the Brookfields, Hardwick, Hubbardston and nearby towns): Donald R. Berthiaume Jr. (R) (i)
• 8th Worcester (Blackstone, Millville, most of Uxbridge, Bellingham): Michael J. Soter (R) (i)
• 9th Worcester (Grafton, Northbridge, Upton): David K. Muradian Jr. (R) (i)
• 10th Worcester (Hopedale, Mendon, Milford): Brian W. Murray (D) (i)
• 11th Worcester (Shrewsbury, part of Westborough): Hannah Kane (R) (i)
• 13th Worcester (Worcester): John J. Mahoney (D) (i)
• 14th Worcester (West Boylston, Worcester): James J. O’Day (D) (i)
• 15th Worcester (Worcester): Mary S. Keefe (D) (i)
• 16th Worcester (Worcester): Daniel M. Donahue (D) (i)
• 17th Worcester (Worcester, part of Leicester): David LeBoeuf (D) (i)
• 19th Worcester (Southborough, most of Northborough and Westborough): Kate Donaghue (D) (i)
• 2nd Franklin (Athol, Phillipston, Royalston, part of Winchendon): Susannah M. Whipps (Independent) (i)
• 1st Hampden (Sturbridge, Warren): Todd M. Smola (R) (i)
• 7th Hampden (Petersham): Aaron L. Saunders (D) (i)
• 3rd Middlesex (Bolton): Kate Hogan (D) (i)
• 37th Middlesex (Harvard): Danillo A. Sena (D) (i)

County offices

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. (D) (i) and Worcester County Register of Probate Stephanie K. Fattman (R) (i) both ran unopposed.

See our Sept. 1 primary results for how these candidates reached the November ballot. Town-by-town returns will post to the state’s PD43+ election statistics database as clerks certify them.

Holliston man pleads guilty to federal child exploitation charge

A 23-year-old Holliston man pleaded guilty Oct. 27 in federal court in Boston to sexually exploiting a girl he met on social media, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Wilson Fabian Mizhirumbay Granda pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs set sentencing for Jan. 20, 2027.

Between August and September 2023, Granda coerced the girl to travel to Massachusetts and engage in sexually explicit conduct, federal prosecutors said. Granda knew she was underage when he met her online and lied to her about his own age. He later recorded himself sexually abusing her on several occasions, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors charged Granda in September. He remains in Massachusetts state custody on an unrelated criminal case.

Prior convictions and pending charges

A Hampshire County Superior Court court previously convicted Granda of rape of a child and enticing a child under 16. In May 2024, the court sentenced him to four years and one day in state prison, followed by five years of probation.

Granda also faces pending charges in Norfolk County of rape of a child with force, rape of a child and enticing a child under 16. Those charges involve a different minor.

Worcester police and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office joined more than a dozen agencies that assisted the FBI’s Boston Division in the investigation, according to the September announcement. Police in Holliston, Amherst, Westminster, Medway and Millis also took part, along with UMass Lowell police and police in Scituate, Rhode Island.

Possible sentence

The charge carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, lifetime supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal judge will decide the sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David G. Tobin and Jessica L. Soto of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. The office brought it under Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative against child sexual exploitation that began in May 2006.

Trooper uses cruiser to stop Worcester man driving wrong way on I-395

A Massachusetts State Police trooper used his cruiser to stop a wrong-way pickup truck on Interstate 395 early Sunday, Nov. 1, shielding oncoming drivers from a Worcester man police later charged with operating under the influence.

Troopers arrested Daniel Macko, 30, of Worcester and charged him with operating under the influence of liquor and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, according to the Massachusetts State Police. Neither the trooper nor Macko suffered injuries, State Police said.

The incident began at about 12:45 a.m., when troopers from the State Police barracks in Sturbridge responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a wrong-way driver on I-395 in Oxford.

Investigators determined the pickup had struck two vehicles in a fast-food restaurant parking lot before it entered the highway at Exit 7, heading north in the southbound lanes.

Minutes later, a trooper driving south on I-395 in Auburn radioed the duty office. He reported that he had turned on his emergency lights and was slowing the traffic behind him to protect drivers headed toward the pickup.

With the other vehicles held back, the trooper added his siren to the cruiser’s lights in an effort to stop the approaching truck. He narrowly avoided a head-on collision and then brought the pickup to a stop. The cruiser took only minor damage.

State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble praised the trooper’s response.

“I want to commend this brave Trooper’s swift action to put himself in harm’s way in order to protect the traveling public from an impaired wrong-way driver in the middle of the night,” Noble said.

“It’s situations like this that remind us all of the dangers of impaired driving and the potential consequences to our law enforcement professionals and the public,” he said. “If it weren’t for this Trooper’s courage we may have had a tragic outcome.”

The release did not identify the trooper or say when Macko will appear in court. It gave no information on whether he has an attorney.

State Police did not report whether anyone was inside the two vehicles the pickup struck in the restaurant parking lot.

Patient takes ambulance from Worcester hospital, crashes in West Boylston

A patient drove off in an ambulance from a Worcester behavioral health hospital Sunday, Nov. 1, and crashed into a construction container in West Boylston, according to police and fire officials.

Worcester police received a call at about 8:07 p.m. reporting that a patient had taken a Coastal Medical Transport Systems ambulance from 100 Century Drive, Patch reported. The address houses the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine, according to Boston 25 News.

Police said the patient drove the ambulance into neighboring West Boylston, where it crashed near 1500 Century Drive in an industrial park along the Worcester line.

State police told NBC Boston the ambulance struck a large construction container. West Boylston firefighters found one person at the scene with life-threatening injuries, the fire department told the station.

Emergency crews took the patient to a nearby hospital as a Priority 1 patient, the most serious injury category, Worcester police said. Coastal employees reported no injuries, and police said the crash hurt no one else.

Video from the scene showed heavy damage to the ambulance’s front end. Crews cleared the crash site by early Monday, Nov. 2.

As of Monday morning, police had not released the patient’s name or announced charges. Worcester police said the investigation remains open. State police also responded to the crash, and NBC Boston reported that the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office has opened its own investigation.