Police renew appeal in two unsolved Pittsfield killings with new billboards

Police renew appeal in two unsolved Pittsfield killings with new billboards
Berkshire Eagle
By By Tara Monastesse, The Berkshire Eagle
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PITTSFIELD — Two unsolved homicides are being featured on billboards in the city as police renew an appeal for information from the public.

The billboards, installed Tuesday on Tyler and Wahconah streets, are part of a collaboration between the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office and the Pittsfield Police Department. The billboards ask anyone with information about the cases to contact police.

Friday marks 10 years since Joseph Willie Lee “Bizzy” Brown was shot once in the chest and killed in the driveway of his home at 343 Columbus Ave.

James “J.D.” Dominguez, a Springfield man, was shot in the head and killed near the former Lach’s Lounge at 129 Fenn St. on Jan. 23, 2016.

Julia Sabourin, a spokesperson for the DA’s office, said the billboards are supported by a federal Project Safe Neighborhoods grant.

“No case is ever dropped,” Sabourin said. “If a case is unresolved, the work is continued until the case is resolved.”

For Brown’s family, the billboards represent the hope that someone with information will feel the pull of their conscience and step forward. Brown, who was 38, was survived by his mother, five children and more than a dozen siblings.

“I just want the person that did it to come forward, and anybody else involved to come forward,” said Brown’s 20-year-old daughter, Jossirah Hanger-Brown. “And to just get justice for my dad so he can be at peace, and so our family can be at peace.”

“I would encourage someone to remember that my brother was a real person, a real human being with a family, with children, with loved ones, with people whose lives he’s impacted,” said Bolanle Hill, Brown’s youngest sister. “Not to just think of him as another number or another face on the billboard.”

Brown’s brother, Joe Harris, said “He was loved. He’s missed.”

“It's just a weird feeling not to talk to my brother, or have him call or vice versa, and talk about life, talk about sports, talk about our kids,” Harris said.

“As Joseph’s mother, I’m looking for closure,” said Theresa Delgado.

Delgado is holding out hope that her son’s killer will be held accountable.

“It chips away at you, and your mental status,” she said. “And you have to find a way to cope. And I just turned to God, and believe for God, that there is going to be justice.”

Anyone with information about either case can call the Pittsfield Police Department at 413-448-9700, ext. 599. Anonymous tips can be made by texting TIP411 to 847411.

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