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Mortgage Broker from Canton Arrested for Alleged Drug Vilations, More News From Around the Region

Your weekly look at what's been happening around the region.

Canton Mortgage Broker Arrested for Alleged Drug Violations

Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s Drug Task Force, along with Canton and Stoughton detectives, seized close to 70 pounds of alleged marijuana and $110,000 in possible drug proceeds – arresting four, including a mortgage broker from Canton.

William H. Newman, age 32, of Canton pled not guilty Wednesday, Jan. 23, at his Stoughton District Court arraignment to trafficking in marijuana and conspiracy to violate the drug law. Assistant District Attorney Michael C. Connolly asked that Newman successfully argued for $50,000 cash bail. He is due back Feb. 12 for pre-trial conference. Newman’s occupation was given as Mortgage Broker at Newman Financial Group in Canton.

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stoughton College Student Dies in Amherst Apartment Fire

Jake Hoffman, 21, of Stoughton, was identified as the UMass Amherst college student who died in an early morning fire in an off-campus apartment building in Amherst Jan. 21.

Hoffman, a 2009 graduate of Stoughton High School, was in his senior year at the UMass Amherst, studying Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Fire crews responded to a three-alarm fire at the Rolling Green apartment complex in Amherst around 4:45 a.m. on Monday. The fire, which caused severe damage to the building, displaced 32 people, 22 of whom are students at UMass, according to The Republican of Springfield.

Hoffman was the only reported fatality. The State Fire Marshal's Office said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the fire is believed to have started in the unit where Hoffman was found.

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to police reports, there was a report of a past larceny at a supermarket on Providence Highway. The employees informed police that the suspect fled northbound on Providence Highway, but the merchandise was recovered.

According to the loss prevention employee, the suspect was a black female who selected a large quantity of items, walked passed the registers and tried to exit the store without paying for the items. A loss prevention employee started to follow the suspect into the parking lot and told her that she needed to return to the store with the items. She then told the employee that she "didn't have time."


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