Nuisance Party Poster Boys

A proud Peter Clark

UPDATE:  Friday, Oct 25.  Peter Clark took down his Facebook business page but not personal one.

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One major reason I think UMass pampers the hard core student party culture living off-campus is the simple fact Peter Clark and Emerson Rutkowski are still students in good standing. 

The first major incident of violence towards our police department occurred at the very beginning of the semester last year.  September 9, 2011 to be exact.  Peter Clark was the party DJ.  He was proud enough to use it for a cover photo on FAH-Q Facebook page for his DJ business, even after the extensive negative press.

Currently he uses a photo from one of the three recent Townhouse (where he lives) riots.

Because of the notoriety I first bestowed upon Peter Clark, the Amherst Bulletin and Daily Hampshire Gazette gave him a front page platform to air his cocky, immature party hardy philosophy to the masses.

And that was quickly followed up by the King of Juvenile, Bar Stool Sports, making him out to be a modern day James Dean (although "without a cause" certainly fits).

When he and stooge sidekick Emerson Rutkowski were driving neighbors crazy in a residential neighborhood in South Amherst and the household garnered repeated noise/nuisance tickets as a result, they formed a Facebook page called "F_ck The Fines!"

This kid is worse than a serial repeat offender, because he's actually proud of it.  And as a "professional" DJ, he profits by it.  Fast forward to early Friday morning: Peter Clark and  Emerson Rutkowski were arrested yet again for Noise and Nuisance violations at their Meadow Street Townhouse apartment.

And it sounds like the cop could also have thrown in a charge of resisting arrest or assault on an officer.

At the very least, this makes three arrest incidents in just the past 18 months.  So if Umass really wants to show they are cracking down on the rowdy behavior terrorising our neighborhoods, then they they need to do what our military does in the "War On Terror":  take out the ringleaders.

And for the lowly likes of Peter Clark or Emerson Rutkowski, you don't need an expensive drone strike. Just expel them.  Peter Clark famously stated, "As long as I’m here, there will always be a party to go to."

Well, the flip side to that ...

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No surprise APD broke up a major party on Hobart Lane the night of 10/12/12

DUI Dishonor Role

 You drink and drive, innocent people die

Getting hard to keep up with all the Party Houses and DUI arrests when a mega story like gang rape sweeps everything aside.  Common denominator is of course alcohol.  Yes, a legal although regulated  product that produces profits like there's no tomorrow.

Of course the downside is for some people -- like a UMass student a couple of weeks away from graduation last spring -- there will never be another tomorrow.

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1:19 AM early Saturday morning police pulled over a driver in front of Presidential Apartments near UMass for a "defective license plate".  He blew a .08% BAC and was arrested for DUI:

Glenn Jacob Esienhard, 207 Roberts Road, Ardmore, MA, age 22

1:36 AM early Sunday morning police were called to the half-way point on the steep side of The Notch in deep South Amherst near the Norwottuck Gun Club entrance for a "single vehicle rollover".  After the car stopped sliding, the occupant pulled himself out and was trying to enlist bystanders (who stopped to help) into flipping the car back over on its wheels so he could flee the scene.   Arrested for DUI:

Alex Carlton Koblinski, 72 N. Main St, So. Deerfield, MA, age 22

1:18 AM early Monday police were called via cell phone over a "road rage" incident.  Arrested for DUI:

Francis Vanasse, 91 No Main St, Belchertown, MA, age 29

A Growing Spotlight

Chief John Horvath, on the job less than a month, standing in the hot seat

A grim faced line of state officials -- including Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, UMPD Chief John Horvath and District Attorney Dave Sullivan -- entered the conference room at UMPD headquarters about 20 minutes late for the 1:00 PM news conference, if indeed a 1:00 PM event was ever officially acknowledged as actually happening.

 Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy "with a heavy heart" addresses the crowd  

But obviously enough media got wind of it as two or three dozen reporters, photographers and videographers were present for the presentation.  The Chief would not discuss specifics of the gruesome case --whether alcohol was involved, who signed in the perpetrators at the dorm, how well the victim knew them, etc.

 Print, radio, TV, and web based journalists.  And it's only the begining

But he did confirm the arrest of four males, none of them UMass students, for the most heinous crime of gang rape, although nobody dared used that term.  And he praised the swift joint investigation of UMPD and State police, while DA Sullivan promised justice would be meted out.

 District Attorney Dave Sullivan

And while the Chief did acknowledge UMass reported 13 sexual assaults last year and 12 the year before, he did say firmly: "This doesn't happen on the UMass campus," referring of course to gang rape.

It did, however, (allegedly) happen.  And it's going to be a very long time before anyone forgets that.

Enku Gelaye UMASS Dean of Students



UMass official statement regarding the alleged gang rape. (update 12/6/14:  Apparently UMass doesn't want to be reminded, as they have purged the press release)

The (Springfield) Republican reports

Raw Sunday report with a (very) delayed lead

 51 Phillips Street (Sunday morning) note stolen sign

Just some of things I'm working on for tomorrow's start of the news cycle.  Cruising about late Friday and Saturday nights listening to the scanner confirms a bevy of "Party Houses of the Weekend" will rear their ugly chimneys at tomorrow morning's APD press briefing that condenses a weekend of controlling chaotic activity into tidy public log entries.

Poetic irony of course is 51 Phillips Street will make the list.  Yes, the address I posted a photo of last week because of beer debris on the roof and Cowardly Anon Nitwits have been complaining about in comments ever since, because the house was not actually cited for anything ... (except existing on a street the Amherst Redevelopment Authority consultant deemed "decadent.")

Sure enough APD was called there, 51 Phillips Street, for a noise complaint around 9:00 PM last night (so early I was not even in my car) and residents were cited for Noise and/or Nuisance violations.  Tomorrow at the APD press briefing I will get the details as to whether folks were arrested or simply cited civilly, but if I had to guess, probably arrested.

A DUI arrest showed up fairly early last night: a motorcyclist was pulled over on the access road from Mill Valley Estates leading into East Hadley Road early last night, about a quarter mile from my house. 

Officers arrested the driver, a young black male, and Ernie's towing carted off the motorcycle.  You drink and drive they tow your vehicle (and put you in jail).

Friday night one ranking member of APD was on taxi patrol, pulling them over left and right for sudden inspections.  Sounds like a few did not pass and received citations or had to be towed.  The Amherst Select Board has on their agenda Monday night a discussion about taxi regulations, so chances are they will hear a full report on what happened Friday night.
 

 167 College Street, late Friday night

Around midnight Friday police descended on 167 College Street for a large party.  You may remember this address from last year where a major brawl occurred that resulted in stabbings.

Interestingly Amherst College issued a public statement saying none of the students involved were from Amherst College (the property borders the campus and Amherst College police had to help back up APD in dealing with the melee).

Which leads me to me to just one more, exceedingly sad and no less shocking, thing.  According to reliable sources, UMass/Amherst will issue a public statement at UMPD HQ tomorrow @ 1:00 PM  concerning the arrest of four individuals for the most heinous crime to occur on campus in my exceedingly l-o-n-g memory:  gang rape. 

Fall Foilage Fun: for a good cause

 107 Runners Line Up (walkers left earlier)

As they have done for 41 years, hundreds of folks from all walks of life converged on the historic Amherst town common and then headed out for a scenic 5K jaunt under picture perfect skies, all to benefit the Amherst A Better Chance program that allows inner city minority youth the benefits so many of us take for granted:  a good education.

The morning mist lifted to unveil a beautiful fall day

View looking east

Jada crosses the line (ahead of Mom and dog, Jake)

Paul Wiley presents Jada with award for "youngest runner."

Friday Frolics

11 Eames Avenue , Amherst

Intermittent rain was not enough to dampen the renegade party spirit of the hard core party hardy types as evidenced by this repeat offender. And an unusual one at that as it's not a rental but owner occupied.

Neighbors called police around midnight last night to complain about throngs of loud people in their yard.  When police arrived they spotted a bevy of college aged youths fleeing the basement of 11 Eames Place and dispersing into the woods.  But they still found around another 60 hiding in the basement.  They also found the owner and arrested him for Noise and Nuisance violations.

Arrested for Noise and Nuisance:

Reed Smith, 24 Pain St, Wellesley, Ma, age 27 (owner of the property)
Christopher Roy, 11 Merridan Rd, Weyham, Ma, age 21
Kelly Norton, 62 Karen Ln, Abington, MA, 18 arrested for resisting arrest, underaged drinking

They Have Landed

Amherst Biennial: Encounter 2 by William Brayton @ The Lord Jeffrey Inn