Articles Posted in Assault and Battery

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Last week, I began this mini-series about perspectives in the criminal justice system. I started with that of the police officers. As the week went on, the news was more and more full of examples illustrating my point. First, the only alleged police misconduct dominating the Boston news in took place in New York. Now, we have a video on YouTube and similar allegations here at home.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis now says that he is reviewing video footage that shows the several police officers using force to arrest a juvenile (hereinafter, the “Kid”) at Roxbury Community College.

The video has made the rounds on YouTube and shows an officer assaulting the Kid and kneeing him while several other officers are trying to place handcuffs on him. The arrest occurred in a lobby at the college. Of course, the Kid was not the only one injured…three of the officers were apparently taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and were later released, Davis has pointed out.

According to Davis, the officers did use force, but it is a question whether that force was excessive. After all, the officers were trying to handcuff the Kid and the Kid resisted.
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Perhaps it is my fault. Maybe I have been concentrating on tales of police investigations into crimes like murder, robbery and assault, that I have neglected to remind you that the “self-help” approach is seldom applauded in criminal justice.

I know that this may be counter-intuitive for many of you, but if an unknown gentleman climbs through your window at night and, after noticing you, suddenly freezes and says, “Oh [expletive]!”, you do not have the right to simply pick up your trusty bazooka and simply wipe him off the face of the Earth.

Let’s take a specific example. Jose C., a Lawrence gentleman (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), was leaving a friend’s house on Monday when he was accosted.

He was approached by two men with weapons who demanded that he give them money.

The Defendant explained that he had no money to give them.

The men apparently took the news in stride; they stole his car instead.
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In Lynn District Court, Fernando Aristy, a 24-year-old Chelsea man, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of Massachusetts murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault to murder. Aristy is accused of injuring 34-year-old Peabody resident Chad McDonald so severely during a fight earlier this month that the latter never recovered.

However, according to Aristy’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer, the Chelsea man had been acting in self-defense. Witnesses have reported at one point during the dispute seeing McDonald pull out a screwdriver that they mistook as a knife. They also say that he started the fight.

Aristy and McDonald had reportedly argued a week before the deadly brawl about a parking disagreement. During the fight, Aristy allegedly struck McDonald with a 2-by-4 piece of wood and then later fled the scene.

According to The Salem News, following the fight McDonald seemed unaware that he had sustained severe head injuries. He returned to the business where he worked and was living temporarily. A friend came to check on him after he failed to show up for a yard sale and that was when he was transported to the hospital.

Aristy turned himself over to Lynn police earlier this week.

Man held in death of a local father, 34, Salem News, October 27, 2010
Lynn man pleads not guilty to murder charge after fight, Boston.com, October 27, 2010

Related Web Resource:
General Laws of Massachusetts – Chapter 265 Crimes Against the Person, Onecle Continue reading

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You may have noticed that many Massachusetts crimes are ones in which the defendant had to have had the pre-requisite intent to commit the crime. The element of intent is not, however, necessary for all criminal acts.

For example, let’s say that I had a really bad day today and so, it being Friday and all, I decided to go down to my favorite watering hole and down an alcoholic beverage or five of my choosing. I then made the colossal mistake of trying to drive home. There is an accident and I hit another vehicle and kill them. This is what is known as vehicular homicide.

True, I did have a few drinks, but I certainly did not mean to hurt, much less kill, anybody. Further, I was certainly not in my right mind when I got behind the wheel. I was drunk.

So…what can I be guilty of…just drinking?

Of course not. The law presumes that we intend the natural result of our actions. It also holds that we accept a certain amount of risk under certain circumstances. When I went out to drink, I knew I would, or may, get drunk. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to an act you commit simply because you were drunk. Therefore, I am guilty of drunk driving. By the same logic, I am also guilty of vehicular homicide.
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The teen mother accused of throwing her newborn 17 feet into an East Boston Alley after giving birth to him in a bathtub on September 20 has been arraigned. In East Boston District Court on Tuesday, 18-year-old Eva Flores pleaded not guilty to the charges of Massachusetts assault and battery of a child under 14 with injuries and reckless endangerment of a child.

Flores, who is not only an East Boston High School student but also an illegal alien from El Salvador, is being held on a federal immigration detainee. Bail has been set at $1,500.

According to prosecutors, Flores was trying to keep her pregnancy a secret. She gave birth at the apartment where she lived with her stepbrother and mother. The baby boy, whose name is Angel, was severely injured during the fall. His injured include brain swelling, brain seizures, brain lesions, hypothermia, facial and head abrasions, seizures, hemorrhaging, and bleeding at multiple points. Some of his injuries are likely permanent.

Flores has said that she wants to keep her child. Angel is now in the custody of child welfare authorities but continues to stay at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Prosecutor Leora Joseph contends that Flores tried to conceal her actions by taking off the bathtub drain, shoving her umbilical cord down it, and then putting the grate back on. She was recently evaluated at Massachusetts General Hospital and a psychiatrist has been monitoring her since the incident.

Teen mom arraigned after baby thrown in trash alley, Boston Herald, October 13, 2010
East Boston teen pleads not guilty to charges she threw baby out the window, Boston.com, October 12, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Crimes against the person, Massachusetts General Laws Continue reading

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…And so the bullying battles in South Hadley rage on. You may remember South Hadley. Last year, Phoebe Prince, new to our shores, committed suicide there. Immediately, the finger of blame was pointed at schoolmates who had been bullying her. Almost as immediately, the local District Attorney, Elizabeth Scheibel (hereinafter, the “Heroic Prosecutor”) noticed the opportunity to make some headlines (no matter the cost) and took the extreme step of indicting those kids.

Later, we found out that Ms. Prince had already been a troubled young lady who had apparently attempted suicide in the past.

No problem. The media spotlight had already shown. The indictments stand. In fact, they will most likely continue to stand (or show) on the kids’ records for the next 15 years or so.

This was supposed to be a sharp message of intolerance to bullying according to the Heroic Prosecutor.

Apparently, it wasn’t. Bullying in the schools continued. We wrote about that. No change. In fact, to the contrary, it inspired new and rushed legislation that also enabled our
politicians to not only garner their share of the spotlight, but to give us “No Name-Calling Day”, a new holiday their brave and “tough” statute proclaimed.

Oh yes, and all kinds of confusion that the rushed law left in its wake which people are still trying to figure out how to deal with.
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In yesterday’s Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog, I discussed a bank manager and his buddy who have found themselves in the sites of the Massachusetts criminal justice system. The charge was assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, to wit a hammer and a football.

Today, it is a Massachusetts state trooper who has caught our attention. Same crime, although with the addition of drunk driving. This time, though, it the weapon is a gun…and, yes, shots are fired.

Timothy W., 41, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is a Massachusetts state trooper who is a decorated war hero. Yesterday, he was released on personal recognizance after being arraigned on charges that he allegedly drove drunk, crashed his car on a Dorchester street, pointed his gun at a Boston police officer, and later fired his gun into the ceiling of his home.

About a dozen family members, friends, and co-workers, including at least five men in military uniforms, attended the hearing in Dorchester District Court.

Clearly, this is not the tale of a bully dressed in blue, getting caught abusing power and demonstrating an abundance of attitude. It would appear that it is the tragic story of a man in real need to be helped.
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Last Friday morning, Boston was the scene of an alleged attack upon a street cleaning vehicle. This was a felony –type assault, complete with dangerous weapons.

The identity of the suspects, though, might surprise you.

Both gentlemen, Craig S., 23, and Piero P., 26, (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendants”), are from Lynn. One of the two is a bank manager.

Well, at least, he was…

Anyway, the Defendants have pleaded “not guilty”. The case is currently pending at the Boston Municipal Court.

According to the prosecution, The Defendants were arrested by Boston police around 1 a.m. after they allegedly attacked Warren M., (hereinafter, the “Complainant”), the driver of a street cleaning truck.
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In Boston Municipal Court today, Piero G. Procopio and Craig S. Strasnick pleaded not guilty to Massachusetts assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charges. The two men are accused of taking a football and a hammer and attacking Warren McMasters, who drives a street cleaning truck.

The attack allegedly occurred in Boston in the early hours of the morning. McMasters, who works for American Cleaners, says that he was driving the wrong direction down Surface Street when a vehicle drove up and blocked the road. Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David M. Givskud says that the two men then exited the SUV and allegedly attacked McMasters before driving off.

Police later saw their vehicle North Washington Street. They found a football and a hammer inside the SUV. McMasters, who sustained bruises and cuts from the alleged attack was treated at a Weymouth hospital and then later released.

Boston Assault and Battery
In Massachusetts, no actual physical injury has to have occurred for an assault and battery charge to be filed against someone. “Assault” can refer to the threat of violence even if no actual physical contact takes place. “Battery” refers to physical contact where the alleged victim did not give consent. To be charged with Massachusetts assault and battery with a deadly weapon, any object allegedly involved that can be used as a weapon can fall under the “deadly weapon” category.

Two men attack driver of streetcleaner with football and hammer, prosecutors say, Boston.com, September 24, 2010
2 Arrested In Hammer Attack On Street Sweeper, WCVB, September 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Massachusetts General Laws, Massachusetts Trial Law Libraries

Assault, Justia Continue reading

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Yesterday, we discussed Darryl B., (hereinafter, again, the “Defendant”) and his legal difficulties resulting from a confrontation with local police in Allston, MA. Said difficulties resulted in the awarding of the Commonwealth bracelets of shame, involuntary Commonwealth housing and various criminal charges including Armed Robbery, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and the like.

In brief, the Defendant is alleged to have robbed a polling place during Tuesday’s primary election with a gun. The police were notified and he fled. When the police caught up with him, the Defendant allegedly pointed the gun at them. Finally, deciding not to die, he put the gun down.

The Defendant has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, and being a Level III armed career criminal because of prior gun convictions for incidents in 2002 and 2004, Suffolk district attorney’s spokesman Jake Wark said.

Often, I find that clients are surprised when, after committing a few criminal acts , they are charged with more criminal charges than they had expected.

It would not be surprising to hear the Defendant protest, “Ok, I stole the money, but I did not hit or shoot anybody! What’s with all the charges?”
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