Articles Posted in Assault and Battery

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“Sam….what gives? You tell us that the next day’s Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog is going to be an unhappy one and then you disappear for the rest of the week? You call this “daily“???”

I know, I know…sorry about that. Sometimes my responsibilities to my clients necessitate my irregular definition of the term “daily”. But, late as it may be…here is the tragic story to which I referred.

It is the tale of Geoffrey W., 31, an MIT staffer from Malden (hereinafter, the “Defendant”).

Last week, the Defendant was arrested in connection with the death of his 6-month-old son, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone. He stands charged with murder
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Did you know that the Boston Criminal Law Blog is the number one read criminal law blog in Massachusetts? Thanks for that, by the way. Well, it looks like we need to tell our neighbors in Rhode Island about it too. After all, I began this week warning you about keeping your cool during…heated…situations.

I meant outside as well as inside.

Nevertheless, one day after I posted the blog, a Rhode Island woman allegedly threw her coffee onto a meter maid who was ticketing her car in Brookline.

Krystle C., 23, of Rhode Island (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) has been arraigned in Brookline District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a public employee. She was released on personal recognizance (no bail) and a further hearing was scheduled for April 5th.

Yes, the dangerous weapon was the coffee.
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Well, the Boston Criminal Law Blog is likely to a be a bit shorter this week as we prepare for major battle in the criminal justice trenches later this week.

There is always time, though, to remind you that, even in the times of hottest temper, it pays to keep your cool. Here is an interesting little tidbit that caught my eye this past weekend.

Andre N., 21 of Westfield (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is unlikely to be on time for work today. He had some trouble early Saturday morning. According to the authorities, the problem occurred at the ironically named “Fifth Alarm” strip club in Springfield. It would appear that he got alittle carried away, perhaps with the ambiance of his night out.

According to the police, the officers were working a detail at the club when a bouncer attempted to remove an unruly customer.

Yes, that would be our Defendant.
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Amy Bishop’s parents say that they will cooperate in the judicial inquest into the 1986 Braintree, Massachusetts fatal shooting of their son. However, they are adamant that Bishop shot him accidentally.

Bishop, a 45-year-old University of Alabama Biology professor, is now charged with the fatal shooting deaths of three university staff members on February 12. Following this month’s incident, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating initiated the inquest.

In 1986, Bishop, then 21, fatally shot her brother Seth, 18, with a 12-guage shotgun. Afterwards, she was accused of pointing a shotgun at two people at a car dealership where she demanded a car. Bishop was not charged with any crimes even though Keating says that Bishop could have been charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

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Here is another arena in the Boston area where the hysterical cry of the Lawenorder Bird calls, “Softoncrime! Softoncrime!” The bird, considered a symbol of justice to some is seen as a predatory bird by others. Criminal defense attorneys for example.

The arena is one in which only one-half of its nesting area is visible to the general population. The nesting area is known as “The Administration”. The arenas are educational institutions littered throughout the Commonwealth. Academic in nature, they often do not consider certain real-life considerations. This makes them especially susceptible to public opinion.

And public opinion is almost always in favor of an easy answer to crush the problem of crime.

“Ok. Now what on Earth is he writing about today?”, you ask. “Predatory birds? Nests susceptible to public opinion? Has Sam Goldberg finally lost his grip?”
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Today, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog points out that there really can be “heroes” as well as “villains” in today’s modern, if not skeptical, age.

It seems to also be a story of a suspect’s alleged consistency.

It was this past Monday. It began when a 34-year-old woman parked her Acura SUV at the Dock Square garage in the North End. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a burly man appeared at her door, speaking calmly and matter-of-factly.

“I need your car, I need your keys,” he said.

When she saw the gun in her hand, she knew it was not simply an unlucky gentleman who simply needed an emergency ride to, say, deliver a baby.

He simply wanted to deliver the car…to himself
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Jayson Williams, the former New Jersey Nets player, has been sentenced to a five-year prison term for charges related to his covering up of the fatal shooting of Costas “Gus” Christofi, a limo driver that he had hired. Williams accidentally shot the 55-year-old driver on February 14, 2002.

The fatal incident happened at the former NBA star’s home in Pennsylvania. According to prosecutors, Williams was reckless in the handling of a 12-gauge shotgun that then went off. He and two others were accused of trying to cover up what happened so it would look as if the limo driver shot himself.

In 2004, a jury convicted Williams of four charges of trying to conceal the fatal incident. They acquitted him on the criminal charges of evidence tampering, hindering apprehension or prosecution, witness tampering, and fabricating evidence. However, they could not agree on whether to convict him for reckless manslaughter.

During the criminal trial, the former NBA star admitted that he did not see whether the gun, which was part of his collection, was loaded, whether the safety catch was activated, or what direction the weapon was pointing toward. A mistrial was declared and rather than go through another trial over the reckless manslaughter charge, Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He has to serve 18-months in prison, concurrent with the 5-year sentence.

In 2003, Williams settled the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Christofi’s family for $2.75 million.

Former NBA star Jayson Williams gets five-year sentence in shooting, CNN, February 23, 2010
Williams Gets 5-Year Prison Sentence, Reuters, February 23, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Violent Crimes, Justia
Jayson Williams, New York Times Continue reading

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19-year-old Browning Mejia’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer is arguing that his client should never have been indicted over a January 15, 2009 shooting in Hyannis. The attorney claims that witnesses did not convincingly identify the teen.

Mejia is accused of being one of two masked persons to shoot a parked car whose occupants were allegedly there to purchase drugs from him. Two men sustained bullet wounds from the 15 to 20 rounds that were fired into the Chevy Impala.

A woman who had been in the back seat told cops that she recognized the teenager’s voice. She also says that because his mask was down she was able to see his face. This week, Mejia’s defense attorney argued that the woman has changed her story. He also said that no one who stood before the grand jury was able to ID his client as one of the shooters.

Mejia was charged with Massachusetts assault with a dangerous weapon and armed assault with a deadly weapon.

Mistaken Identity Arrests
If Mejia was indeed wrongly identified as the suspect in the shooting, he is not alone. According to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, at least one person is mistakenly identified and arrested on a daily basis. In most cases, the person is released soon after the mistake is discovered. Arrest warrants incorrectly naming someone are even issued.

Lawyer: ID faulty for accused Hyannis shooter, Cape Cod TImes, February 18, 2010
Officer, you’ve got the wrong person, CNN, February 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Assault, Justia Continue reading

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It would appear that the people of the Boston area dodged the proverbial bullet when Professor Amy Bishop (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) moved out of state. According to Alabama law enforcement, co-faculty members were not so lucky.

The Defendant stands accused at the moment of gunning down said members at a faculty meeting whereat it was revealed that she was not going to get tenure.

But her latest problems are not her first brushes with guns, assault and the law. In fact, the more the media dig into her past, the more is learned at how she allegedly skated by criminal prosecutions a number of times. Some such skating has left Massachusetts law enforcement officials scratching their heads.

For example, one of the first stories that were revealed were about the suspicions about her connection to an attempted bombing of a professor at Harvard when she worked there. She was apparently trying to become a famous scientist (see discovery of her book from Tuesday’s blog). Her supervisor was purportedly not pleased with her work. He received a bomb in the mail after an alleged dispute with her. Clearly, the federal officials did not believe there was enough to charge her and so nothing happened.

However, a cloud of mystery seems to have developed about that situation with her brother.
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The Kerrigan family may have you alittle confused. The Boston Medical Examiner’s office says that the father (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) died because of an assault by the brother (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). The rest of the family is praising what a fantastic role model the Deceased was, but are standing by the Defendant. The District Attorney is trying to figure out what is the right move in the case.

Meanwhile, the superstar of the family, daughter of the Deceased and sister of the Defendant, former-Olympic but now-media star is publically vowing to fight the ruling that concluded her beloved father was murdered during a brawl with his son. In fact, in a long letter sent to friends that illustrated her adoration for the Deceased, Kerrigan yesterday defended the Defendant and called the state medical examiner’s ruling regarding the death “unjustified.”

The Defendant, meanwhile, remains at Bridgewater State Hospital, has pleaded not guilty to assault and battery on an elderly person,and wonders about his fate. Lord only knows what type of turmoil he is in.

” ‘Turmoil’? But he is the Defendant! You mean he is afraid of what the punishment will be?”

No, actually, I meant what I wrote. Do you think there is very much the system can do to him that is not dwarfed by what he must be going through inside?

I have written many times about how media coverage and, indeed, fear of it often rules the criminal justice system. There is something else that plays a huge part in it and always has. Basic human emotion.
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