A Plymouth man will serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to charges he collected pandemic unemployment benefits he wasn’t entitled to receive. Aaron Fernandes, 43, was already locked up on drug charges when he allegedly plotted with two women — over a recorded phone line — to collect Covid relief funds. Inmates are […]
Author Archives: Andrea Estes - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
AG says Plymouth’s Select Board violated state’s Open Meeting Law several times
The state attorney general on Wednesday found the Plymouth Select Board violated the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law multiple times last year and warned that the town could face civil fines if it violates the law again. The Select Board failed to approve meeting minutes quickly enough, held an executive session for an impermissible reason, and […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Another Plymouth resident faces Covid fraud charges
A Plymouth business owner has been charged with pocketing more than $155,000 in Covid relief funds he wasn’t entitled to. Joseph Kerrissey, 46, who owns several construction companies in town, allegedly filed six fraudulent applications for payroll protection loans between 2020 and 2021, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Kerrissey, charged with three […]
Posted inGovernment
Town Meeting gets down to business
Plymouth town meeting members waded through a long agenda Saturday — making it through 28 articles before adjourning until Monday night with two controversial issues still to be decided. The town’s elected representatives, who attended either in person at Plymouth North High School or remotely, approved almost everything that came before them. Members authorized a […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Cage Titans fan goes down for the count after allegedly attacking police officers
Maybe he felt inspired, or just didn’t want the show to end. But a Braintree man in town for Cage Titans last weekend left the mixed martial arts event itching for a fight, police said. Thomas Johnson, 58, threatened, menaced, and kicked Plymouth police officers trying to calm him down after they found him allegedly […]
Posted inGovernment
Five local agencies awarded opioid settlement funds
The Town of Plymouth will soon begin distributing its share of the more than $150 million the state has already received from opioid lawsuit settlements, officials said on Monday. Plymouth, which had nine opioid-related deaths in 2022, has collected $399,000 so far and will be awarding grants to five agencies proposing innovative ways to tackle the epidemic, […]
Posted inGovernment
TOWN MEETING PREVIEW
Each spring, Plymouth holds a combination regular and special town meeting at which much of its business gets done. This year, it’s on April 6, at the Plymouth North High School auditorium, starting at 8 a.m. Usually, it involves a lot of coffee drinking, lively debates, and fair amount of political maneuvering. Think of Town […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Bloody brawl is second violent incident at a downtown bar this month
What may have started as a critique of a woman’s karaoke performance turned into a full-scale brawl at a downtown bar on March 18, police said. Two men were stabbed during the midnight melee at the Main Street Sports Bar and Grill. It’s not clear from police reports who attacked whom first, but a man […]
Posted inBusiness
Downtown needs a ‘really nice place to stay’
Each room will be different — some small and intimate, others larger with fireplaces. All will blend Old World Plymouth with modern design. That’s Rick Vayo’s vision for two historic but rundown buildings on Chilton Street. The developer hopes to renovate them, creating a chic, high-end hotel for Plymouth visitors. “Downtown is in desperate need […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
The town had $831,000 for police body cams. Instead, it’s using the money on Water St. sewer work.
The tense encounter could have ended a lot differently. When Plymouth police answered a call for shots fired on North Spooner Street early Saturday morning, they didn’t know what to expect. The 911 caller told police the shooter, who was actually a friend, was firing rounds at his home and the neighbor’s. And he was […]