26 Year-Old Pittsfield Man Arraigned in Circular Avenue Shooting

The Berkshire District Attorney's office released details this week on two separate court cases involving serious gun violence charges here in the Berkshires.

On Wednesday, Willie Harrison was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on five charges, including Armed Career Criminal. Prosecutors also charged him with Assault and Battery by Discharging a Firearm, Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building, Possession of a Firearm without an FID Card, and Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card.

Shugrue said that on the day of the shooting, Yandel Osorio, 20, had broken into Harrison’s Melville Street apartment and assaulted Harrison’s girlfriend while Harrison was working in Great Barrington. The couple's infant was in the apartment. Prosecutors believe Harrison opened fire in retaliation for that incident. -berkshireeagle.com

The Commonwealth asked for a dangerousness hearing right at the arraignment, and the judge granted it. After hearing the arguments, the judge found Harrison to be a danger to the community. That means he's being held without the right to bail. He's due back in court on September 9th for a status of counsel hearing.

Linden and Francis Incident

Separately, and unrelated to Harrison's case, a juvenile allegedly connected to the August 16th shooting was taken into custody last week. That juvenile has since been arraigned in Juvenile Court on eight charges: Attempted Murder, four counts of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, Discharge of a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building, Possession of a Firearm During a Felony, and Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card. The juvenile is being held in custody as well.

Two different cases, two different courts, but both point to the same troubling pattern we keep seeing around gun violence in Berkshire County. I'll keep following both of these as they move through the court system.