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Hate Crime Charges Follow Arson At MA Church: Patch PM

Also: Snow!? | 4/20 celebration in Worcester | Gardner heist revisited | Framingham officials on SROs | More

An image from an FBI investigation into an arson at a Black church in Springfield in December.
An image from an FBI investigation into an arson at a Black church in Springfield in December. (FBI/court documents)

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Thursday, April 15. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

  • An Andover doctor was accused of illegally filming a woman while he was having sex with her.
  • Federal officials are charging a Maine man following a series of vandalism incidents at a Black church in Springfield that culminated in a devastating fire on Dec. 28.
  • While it's late in the season for snow in Massachusetts, we won't be breaking any records if a forecasted storm materializes. The latest snowfall in a season recorded in Massachusetts was on May 10, 1977.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.


Today's Top Story

Federal officials are charging a Maine man following a series of vandalism incidents at a Black church in Springfield that culminated in a devastating fire on Dec. 28 that destroyed the chapel.

Find out what's happening in Worcesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Dushko Vulchev, of Houlton, Maine, is being charged with damage to religious property and use of fire to commit a federal felony, according to court documents. Vulchev posted videos on Facebook of several vandalism incidents, and has a history of using racial epithets toward Black people, courts documents say.

Find out what's happening in Worcesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.


Thursday's Other Top Stories

Should Massachusetts adopt a coronavirus vaccine passport? Take the Patch reader survey.

Ex-Lahey doctor arraigned: An Andover doctor was accused of illegally filming a woman while he was having sex with her. Glenn Gutierrez, formerly a Lahey Hospital employee, was arraigned Friday for two counts of illegal wiretapping. A woman accused him of secretly filming her in the shower and having sex with him from 2011 to 2013.

4/20 not very big in Massachusetts: The yearly April marijuana holiday isn't typically a big deal due to a state ban on discounting cannabis products. But one store in Worcester is holding a festival this year, and it will include gourmet hot dogs.

Nor'east may bring April snow: Winter weather is expected in parts of Massachusetts Thursday, and a winter storm watch has been issued for parts of Worcester County and western Middlesex County as a nor'easter approaches the region.

Police in schools: A group of elected leaders in Framingham are weighing in on a recent public forum about police in city schools — and whether they should be removed.

Ex-Lahey doctor arraigned: An Andover doctor was accused of illegally filming a woman while he was having sex with her. Glenn Gutierrez, formerly a Lahey Hospital employee, was arraigned Friday for two counts of illegal wiretapping. A woman accused him of


Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.


In Case You Missed It


They Said It

"If we have learned anything in the last 20 years it is that there is nothing worse for America's service members than leaving positions and returning the next year with more troops to fight and die for the same goals we failed to achieve the last time we were there. I want to bring home our troops, but we must bring them home for good.""

  • Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Salem, on the Biden administration's plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. Moulton is a veteran who served in Iraq.


By The Numbers

14 days: That's how long the Lyrid meteor shower will be visible in the skies over Massachusetts beginning on Friday.


Review: "This Is A Robbery" on Netflix

The streaming television service on April 7 released "This Is A Robbery," a four-part documentary on a famous Massachusetts art heist. While the series doesn't break any new ground, it collects most of the key pieces of the 31-year saga in one package and concludes with a convincing case of who most likely committed the world's biggest art heist.

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