The Berkshire District Attorney’s office believes a local judge erred in dismissing manslaughter charges brought against two Adams foster parents related to the death of an infant in their care. The appeal comes after the judge faulted the office for its handling of the case.

EAGLE INVESTIGATIONS: Friends and family say that in the last years of his life, Miguel Estrella tried to break free from troubles of his youth, including links to people with criminal records. One night in February 2020 showed how hard that can be, when Estrella tried to claim he owned the gun Adams police found in his car. Police believe he was coerced to say that.

A grand jury has indicted 20-year-old Lucius Copeland, moving the rape case against the first defendant arrested by the District Attorney's flagship Violent Crime Task Force to Berkshire Superior Court. 

Family members of the man shot and killed March 25 by Pittsfield police say they await what a spokeswoman termed the “independent” investigation being run by the Berkshire District Attorney’s office. They expressed hope for a fuller picture of what happened on the night Miguel Estrella lost his life.

An internal investigation by Pittsfield police finds that the officer who shot and killed city resident Miguel Estrella on March 25 followed “use of force guidelines” and that Estrella posed an immediate threat as he came at an officer “at a fast pace” with a raised knife.

Authorities have arrested a 40-year-old man for allegedly murdering Reymon Delacruz-Batista, whose body was found by hunters last year in the Pittsfield State Forest. 

EAGLE INVESTIGATIONS: Over the past two decades, Pittsfield police officers have shot seven people. In four instances, the shootings were fatal. In all but the most recent incident, which remains under investigation, the shootings were deemed justified and the officers were cleared of wrongdoing.