The Springfield District Court Probation Department is looking for a dozen scofflaws and asks the public to join in the search for offenders who are in default, the majority of whom have extensive histories of assault. The offenders violated their probation when they failed to appear before the court after receiving violation notices.

          The offenders are all Springfield residents. One probationer failed to report to the Springfield District Court within the required 48 hours of his release from the House of Correction.

          The offenders are as follows: Lashawn Sheldon, 18, failure to report within 48 hours of release from the House of Correction; Leonard Nixon, 21, possession and distribution of a Class B substance; Dennis Maddox, 34, assault and battery; Wilson Reyes, 26, domestic assault and battery; Dwight Sellars, 30, threat to commit crime, larceny less than $250, assault and battery, and threat; William Benjamin, 34, two counts of assault and battery and resisting arrest; Carlos Castillo, 25, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon one year suspended sentence; Frank Oliver, 46, distribution and possession of a Class B substance; Roy Dancy, 20, carrying a firearms without a license; Angel Vasquez, 41, two counts of distribution of a Class A substance; and Duane Raymond, 42, of West Springfield, two counts of controlled substance abuse (csa), possession of a Class B substance, possession of Class A substance, and resisting arrest.

          Warrants have been issued for the offenders’ arrests.

          “I want to encourage anyone who is on the list to turn yourself in. Do not make it any worse than it is already. And, if you are a person who recognizes anyone on the list and/or know of their whereabouts, we appreciate any information you can provide us,” said John M. Morganstern, Springfield District Chief Probation Officer. “The bottom line is we want to work with the community and keep it safe.”

          Tips may be phoned into the court at 413-748-7818.

          The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 12 Superior Court, 70 District Court and 12 Probate & Family Court probation offices throughout the Commonwealth. Probation’s Juvenile Court system includes 11 divisions which represent every county in the state. The Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) serves as the central administrative office for the state Probation Service and the Office of Community Corrections which operates 22 Community Corrections Centers throughout the state.