Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
Kyle B., 28, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is in trouble again. Criminal Justice trouble. Massachusetts Murder trouble.
The Defendant was arrested in Brockton Saturday and charged with the murder of a man outside of a local restaurant on January 5th. A second witness of the shooting was shot in the leg and has survived. The Defendant stands accused of the shooting of both gentlemen as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.
Law enforcement has wasted no time in calling the double shooting “egregious” and “heinous.” Ignoring the usual need for lip-service on behalf of the presumption of innocence, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has publically declared that “”The shooter in this case is a very dangerous person. I’m glad he’s off the street”, he continued. “Brockton is safer without him on the street.”
Of course, the Defendant is not a complete stranger to charges of homicide. He was charged with the 1999 grisly death of a 14-year-old girl who had been eight months pregnant, presumably with his child. In fact, in a recorded statement to police, the Defendant described himself as a witness who had watched a friend lure her to a shallow grave , stabbed her and bludgeoned her with a rock a brick before burying her alive. The Defendant then led police to that grave. The Commonwealth charged him with being part of the conspiracy to kill the young woman. However, at trial, some five years later, he was found to be “not guilty” by a jury.
After the 2004 jury trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley’s office described itself as being “baffled and pained” by Bryant’s acquittal.
I guess both District Attorneys are sleeping better tonight.
Attorney Sam’s Take:
You may be wondering how the Defendant could be tried for murder when he did not physically commit the murder.
Well, first of all, in fairness, the buddy whom he told the police about did not exactly agree with his version of the event; He gave the reverse scenario. However, even had that not been the case, the Defendant could have been charged as being a part of a “joint venture” to kill the victim. When one is charged with being part of such a venture, or a conspiracy, each co-conspirator can be held responsible for what everyone else in the conspiracy did. Therefore, in the earlier killing, if the jury found that, while the other gentleman did the actual killing, the Defendant was part of the plan and took a step to help forward the conspiracy, they could find him guilty of the actual murder.
I do not know what evidence the Commonwealth has against the Defendant in the second shooting, but if it turns out to be a fairly weak case, there is an argument available to the Defendant that the authorities had it “in” for him. The chief law enforcement official’s poorly chosen statement will be helpful in such a defense argument. After all, he has revealed his own bias in the matter.
It does go to show you, though, that bias does exist on the part of law enforcement officials. It is something you want to remember if you are ever sitting on a jury. You may also want to keep it in mind if you have had your own brushes with the law.
Under our system of justice, the Defendant was not guilty of the first murder. He is presumed to be innocent of the new charges. One would expect that the climate would causee a professional politician like the District Attorney to know better than to label such a person as dangerous in such short and callous order. However, the reality is that the climate may be just perfect for him to do so.
After all, as most of your fellow citizens will tell you…the Defendant with this history has got to be guilty…at least to some degree, right?
Remember this next time you are suspected of a crime and tend to think that all you have to do is show up in court and tell your side of things and the Commonwealth will simplly throw up its hands and surrender. Take any charge seriously and act accordingly. Get an experienced criminal defense attorney. Should you have a case which concerns you or a loved one, and you want to discuss it with me, please feel free to contact me at 617-492-3000.
To find the original story upon which this story is based, please go http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/?p1=Well_Local
