2 Infamous Inmates of Old Second Street Jail In Pittsfield

I recently spoke with Berkshire County Sheriff Tom Bowler about the old Second Street jail, and I asked him a question I've always been curious about. Which infamous Berkshire County murderers were once housed in the old jail in Pittsfield?

His answer didn't take long. Wayne Lo and Lewis Lent.

If those names sound familiar, they should. Both men left a mark on this county that's still talked about decades later.

Wayne Lo

Wayne Lo was the Simon's Rock College shooter. Back in December 1992, he was an 18-year-old student who opened fire on campus in Great Barrington, killing a professor and a fellow student, and wounding four others. His month-long trial was held right here in Pittsfield, and he ended up housed at Second Street while the case played out. He's serving life in prison without parole.

Lewis Lent Jr.

Lewis Lent is a name that still gives longtime Berkshire residents chills. He was the man responsible for the 1990 murder of 12-year-old Jimmy Bernardo of Pittsfield, a case that went unsolved for three years. Lent was finally caught in January 1994, right around the same time jury selection was starting for the Wayne Lo trial, after he tried to abduct another young girl in downtown Pittsfield. She managed to get away and that led police right to him.

The Second Street Jail (opened in 1871) held inmates until the current Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction on Cheshire Rd. began accepting inmates in February of 2001.