Top Stories - September 6, 2006

Left: Jihad Chankhour

Sigh. The school year has started. Hence, the recent lack of updates: I've been focusing on last-minute summer assignments. Of course, there would be many more updates here if only we had MORE CONTRIBUTORS! If you're interested in writing for this site, do what's right and e-mail me or Chris!

You've heard most school news. You've heard the announcements, and you can read them here. However, today, we have an update on the Graveside murder.

Trial of WHS grads’ alleged killers scheduled for Aug. 2007

New details have been revealed about the December 2005 murder of four men - three of whom were from or had ties to Wakefield - in a Dorchester basement recording studio.
Speaking at the Aug. 22 Superior Court arraignments of Dorchester residents and murder suspects Calvin Carnes, 19, and Robert Turner, 19, Assistant District Attorney David Meier said one suspect fired a total of 15 bullets into the victims, and that his accomplice actively participated in the duo’s efforts to evade detection, soliciting various individuals to assist in fabricating an alibi before giving an incriminating statement to police.
While no information on a motive for the murders has been released, Attorney Meier pointed to a wealth of forensic, eyewitness and circumstantial evidence indicating that Carnes "intentionally and in cold blood executed" Jason Bachiller, 21, Jihad Chankhour, 22, Christopher Vieira, 19, and Edwin Duncan, 21, in the basement of Duncan’s 43 Bourneside Street home on the night of Dec. 13, 2005.

(Source: Wakefield Observer)

And here's some more top stories of the day.

Former Comverse CEO located

Comverse’s fugitive ex-Chairman and CEO Jacob (a.k.a. Kobi) Alexander has been located in a fishing village in Sri Lanka and may be close to turning himself in to the FBI, the Web site RedHerring.com reported Aug. 25.
It was initially believed that Alexander had fled to Israel because he holds dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. But as the Israeli newspaperMaariv reported last week, Israeli private investigator Moshe Buller traced a one-minute Internet phone call Alexander made from the fishing village to his daughter in Israel.
In an interview with the Israeli Web site Ynet, Buller said the lawyer representing Alexander had spent the week of Aug. 21 at the FBI office in New York and was apparently working out a deal. There was no confirmation of the story and calls to the FBI press office were not returned by press time.

North Ave. is the most dangerous for drivers

The Wakefield Police Department has released motor vehicle accident statistics from July 1, 2005 to Aug. 29, 2006 and the results could surprise you. In all there were 152 accidents on local roadways last year.
Wakefield Police Traffic Officer Lt. Mark Pherson says the area with the highest amount of car accidents is most likely the Route 129 rotary. However, accident statistics on the rotary are unavailable because most of the calls on the state road are handled by State Police, who said they are unable to release such statistics. To make matters more complicated, part of the rotary lies in Reading, while the rest is located in Wakefield.
Besides the rotary, the roads with the highest number of recorded crashes are North Avenue, Main Street, Water Street, Salem Street and Chestnut Street.
According to the statistics, Wakefield Police responded to more motor vehicle accidents at the corner of Chestnut Street and North Avenue than any other intersection in town with 10 accidents recorded since July 2005.
Lt. Pherson says the lack of a traffic light at the Chestnut Street/North Avenue intersection could be a reason for the high number of crashes.

Boston's Hancock Tower, others for sale

A Boston-based real estate investment firm said Wednesday it is putting up for sale a portfolio of 10 buildings in four cities, including Boston's John Hancock Tower, a sleek skyscraper that rises 60 stories and is New England's tallest building.
With nearly 1.8 million square feet, the Hancock Tower is the largest of the properties in an investment portfolio of high-end commercial property that Beacon Capital Partners is offering for sale.
The sale also includes buildings in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Denver, the firm said in a prepared statement. The buildings -- most of which range in size from 200,000 square feet to 900,000 -- make up one of four of the firm's portfolios of commercial properties.

(Sources: Wakefield Observer, Wakefield Item, Boston Globe)