News Briefs: South County transit survey; man sentenced for reckless operation of a motor vehicle; two plead guilty to permitting bodily injury to a child

Survey seeks public input as selectboard forms Public Transportation Advisory Committee

Great Barrington — The Great Barrington Selectboard has asked the town manager to create a Public Transportation Advisory Committee and endorsed a public survey to assess transit needs in South County.

The South County Public Bus Service Survey is available online and will soon be available, in both English and Spanish, in print at a number of South County locations. The survey seeks feedback on Berkshire Regional Transit Authority ridership and preferences for routes serving the area.

The Public Transit Advisory Committee will include representatives from the selectboard and planning board, plus up to three South County residents. Representatives from other South County selectboards will be invited to attend and participate.

This committee will be charged with regularly evaluating the public transportation needs of South County residents, through surveys and public input meetings, in order to provide recommendations to the town manager, the selectboard and the BRTA.

A transportation presentation, developed by Tate Coleman, was presented to the selectboard last month and is available online.

Those interested in participating on the new committee may contact (413) 528-1619 x3 or hkuziemko@townofgb.org.

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Man sentenced on charge of reckless operation of a motor vehicle

Pittsfield — A man who fled from police during a traffic stop and endangered the lives of officers and the public during a dangerous motor vehicle pursuit through Pittsfield was sentenced to one and a half years in jail on Monday by Central Berkshire District Court Judge Mark Pasquariello.

A jury on Monday morning found the defendant, Mark Marauszwski, 58, of Pittsfield, guilty of three charges: reckless operation of a motor vehicle, operating a vehicle with a suspended license and failure to stop for a police officer. On Monday afternoon, the judge sentenced Marauszwski to one year in the House of Correction for reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and a concurrent sentence of six months for driving with a suspended license. The judge also issued Marauszwski a $100 fine for failure to stop for a police officer.

The jury did not make guilty findings on the charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Deputy District Attorney Richard Dohoney argued in court that Marauszwski’s attempted escape from police posed serious safety risks to the community.

The charges stem from Jan. 25, 2017, when Pittsfield police officers stopped Marauszwski in his sports-utility vehicle on Bartlett Avenue in Pittsfield. The defendant then drove off, leading police on a pursuit through the city that involved multiple collisions before it ended in Springside Park.

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Two plead guilty to permitting bodily injury to a child

Pittsfield — A man and a woman from North Adams pleaded guilty to the charge of permitting bodily injury to a child in Berkshire County Superior Court on Wednesday.

Brian Jones, 23, and Isabella Leger, 22, were sentenced to two years of probation by Judge John Agostini. The defendants may not have unsupervised contact with children under 16 or work or volunteer as a caretaker for children, and Leger must report any new pregnancy to authorities.

The date of the offense was Oct. 14, 2016. The date of arrest was Aug. 31, 2017. The prosecutor was Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giarolo. Attorneys for the defense were Edmund R. St. John IV for Jones and David A. Pixley for Leger.