BERKSHIRE EAGLE- August 9, 2011

PITTSFIELD - One of two Pittsfield teens police say beat and robbed a 61-year-old in March was released on his own recognizance Monday after a judge ruled he wasn't a safety risk.

Chad M. Hodecker, 18, of Curtin Avenue, could have been held without bail for up to 90 days had he been classified as such. But the testimony and evidence present on Monday in Central Berkshire District Court failed to convince Judge Fredric D. Rutberg that Hodecker should continue to be held. Hodecker was arrested by Pittsfield Police last Tuesday and charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault and battery. He has pleaded not guilty to the felonies and was held without bail pending Monday's dangerousness hearing. The hearing included testimony from the alleged victim and a lead detective in the case. The defendant's girlfriend also took the stand.

Charles Helde said he was walking to his Richmond Avenue home from Harry's Supermarket on Wahconah Street just after 6 p. m. on March 7 when he was beaten and robbed by two teens.

The attack left him with a broken nose, cheeks, eye sockets and jaw.

His injuries required surgery. Helde identified Hodecker from the stand. " Take him down," Helde recalled Hodecker telling the other teen, just before Helde was struck in the face by a heavy object, knocking him unconscious. When he awoke, his wallet with $300 inside had been stolen, he said. Helde also said that Hodecker told him they had a gun, but did not display one. Helde didn't tell police about Hodecker's alleged statement concerning the weapon until August.

Hodecker's attorney, Marc C. Vincelette, asked Helde why it took him five months to tell police about this. Helde answered that he "didn't know why he didn't mention it." Vincelette focused on issues of identity in the case. Helde, when he identified Hodecker from a police photo array Aug. 2, told authorities he was 80 percent sure Hodecker was one of the assailants but thought his hair might have been longer.

Monday, Hodecker appeared in court with his hair cropped close to his neck. Hodecker's girlfriend, who has been dating him for just more than a year, testified that she had never seen Hodecker with hair longer than it was Monday and presented cell phone photos from April as evidence.

Vincelette questioned Pittsfield Police Detective Kim Bertelli about four other possible suspects the police looked at before arresting Hodecker. Bertelli said that the investigation was still under way and that "the leads pointed to" Hodecker. The second suspect police believe was involved in the attack has not been arrested.