Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
Kareem T, 28 (hereinafter the “Defendant”), was happy when Monday rolled around this week. After spending the week in custody, the Framingham man got to see his defense attorney and was returned to the free world…if $10,000 can be considered “free”, that is.
Last week was a bad one for the Defendant in the first place. First of all, he was arrested earlier in the week on drug charges. Then, three days later, on Friday, new allegations were broughtagainst him.
At 8:30 p.m., police received several 911 calls about a man pointing a gun at a person in a car at Jefferson Terrace. The police came to investigate, but found that the alleged victim had driven drove off and the suspect had walked away. However, bystanders gave police a detailed description of the suspect.
The officers converged on the area.
One of the officers saw two men walking, one of which had matched the suspect’s description. The officer is said to have yelled out, “Framingham Police, I want to talk to you”. One of the men walked toward the officer, while the other turn, looked at the officer and then ran away.
And so the chase began.
The chase continued across Route 9, in and around traffic and into the woods near the dam at foss reservoir.
That’s where it ended. Care to bet who won?
The Defendant, was initially charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct because police could not find a weapon. However, a state police dog soon remedied that by finding a .38 caliber revolver loaded with five bullets on the ground near where the Defendant was apprehended.
This discovery enabled them to add the charges of possession of a firearm without a permit, possession of ammunition without a permit and being an armed career criminal.
Police do not know the motive for Taylor pointing the gun at the victim, whom police did not identify.
Using the “self help” method of interacting with the police is apparently not new to the Defendant. Last Tuesday, when police had approached his car after a traffic stop, he is said to have jumped out a moving car to avoid arrest for the bag of cocaine and heroin he is said to have tossed to the ground.
He was equally as successful in that chase as he was on Friday.
Attorney Sam’s Take:
We have discussed the “self-help” method of police interaction many times in the past. It generally leads to instant membership in the “Hey, I Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” Club.
My usual advice remains the same. Do not try to out-reason, out-fight or out-run the police. They are up to the challenge, largely because they get the final words. Those words are “You’re under arrest.”
Attempting to flee from the police not only does not help, but it hurts your case in a variety of respects.
First of all, you instantly give the Commonwealth new and helpful evidence to present against you at trial. The evidence is said to reflect “consciousness of guilt” and is self-explanatory.
Second, it give the court strong rationale to holding you on high bail. The purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant will return to court and answer the charges. The more reason to believe he will not show up, the higher bail is set. By attempting to flee from the police in the first instance, the Defendant gives a strong indication about his intentions to stick around and face the music.
The Defendant in this case is actually pretty lucky already. As it would seem he was arrested on Friday while out on bail in his other case, he could have been held in custody without bail for up to 60 days on that alone.
However, it would appear that the Defendant’s luck is about to change. The Commonwealth is indicating that they intend to indict him, which they can do due to the felony charges he faces.
Had the Defendant not pursued the course he did when encountering the police, the case may have been much weaker. First of all, we do not know how good the descriptions were and the Defendant was found at neither the scene or time of the alleged assault. Now, of course, the Commonwealth has the further evidence of the gun and the chase…if not the alleged victim.
Should you find yourself in this situation, keep in mind that the “self-help” seldom works in the justice system. Quietly comply with the officers and generally you will want to politely decline to engage in questioning without your lawyer. Then, get a lawyer who has experience in these kinds of matters post haste.
If you are facing such charges and would like to discuss your options and potential representation with me, please feel free to call me at (617) 206-1942.
For the full article upon which today’s blog is based, go to http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1002020516/Framingham-arrested-after-cops-say-he-pointed-gun-led-them-on-a-chase
Note To Readers: Due to technical difficulties, there was no blog posting yesterday. Sorry about that. Tune in tomorrow, though, for this week’s Attorney Sam’s Take which tackles the question, “Why would an innocent person plead guilty?”
