Articles Posted in Criminal Law

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Mr. John F., 32 of Quincy (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), needs a good lawyer.

According to law enforcement, his home housed some ill-advised contents. As a result, he is now being described as a mid-level drug dealer.

On Monday night, around 6:00pm, police raided the Defendant’s home. The Commonwealth claims that a search of the home resulted in the seizure of approximately 20 grams of crack, cocaine and weapons including two shotguns, one which had a sawed-off barrel, a 9 millimeter handgun with a defaced serial number and hollow-point bullets.

The Defendant himself was not found in the actual house. He was allegedly found in a detached garage where two shotguns and a Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun were also discovered.

Police also indicate they found a box containing $1,100 in cash located above a suspended basement ceiling as well as another $1,700 in a bedroom, along with the 20 grams of crack found in the bedroom closet.
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Being a police officer in the big city can be dangerous. We all know that. Logan Airport, of course, is within the limits of the city of Boston. So, it is not too shocking that it can be a dangerous place. Usually, though, that danger does not come inside the packaging of a Mercedes Benz SUV and presented by a Wellesley businesswoman.

It did in March, though.

Last week, she resolved the matter.

She apologized.

Of course, “my bad” was not the first reaction that Margaret G., a 57-year-old portfolio manager and former Wellesley school board member (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) offered to law enforcement in this matter.
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This week ends as last week ended. From Boston to Providence, and beyond, law makers and enforcers are struggling with how to address the problems presented by the so-called “Craigslist Killer” (hereinafter, “CLK”). The case grows almost daily as he is now facing murder charges in Massachusetts and assault/robbery charges in Rhode Island. One would imagine that prosecuting attorneys, politicians and law enforcement would be concentrating on bringing CLK to trial and working to prevent such murders.

…And you would be wrong.

Instead, the response seems to be to attack the victims’ profession and method of advertisement. In other words, do everything possible to keep sex workers like the victims in the shadows of society so that they can continue to be easy victims to people like Jack The Ripper and CLK.

The Massachusetts CLK case was the crime of murder. The Rhode Island Matter involved assault and robbery. The victims were both of the sex industry and they purportedly met CLK through the website Craigslist.com. There are no allegations of any sexual acts, voluntary or forced, having been a component on CLK’s violent crimes.

Yet, somehow, the matter is being treated as if it were about the sex trade.
Somehow, the work of a twisted killer has become the fault of the profession of prostitution as well as Craigslist’s posting of ads which have, it turns out, sometimes been fronts for said trade.

And so, this past Wednesday apparently marked a great victory for humanity everywhere. Justice is finally being done and we are one step closer to murder-free.
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It has been awhile since the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has received news from the “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” Club. Months ago, their members appeared quite frequently in my postings. Not to worry, though. They are back and one unfortunate member needs a criminal lawyer.

The story may strike you as familiar.

This incident took place yesterday, May 12th. The previous incident to which I refer was the subject of this blog on March 12th.

Yesterday’s scene, according to the Boston Herald, took place at the Natick Collection mall. A couple were out together, enjoying enjoying an afternoon of nice weather and theft. Lt. Brian Grassey says that, at approximately 4:00pm, two plainclothes detectives from Natick police were at the mall “and made observations of what appeared to be a store larceny unfolding right in front of them.”

In other words, shoplifting.

The suspects were a man and a woman. Mall security chased the couple from a Sunglass Hut. When the woman was detained, the gentleman decided the date was over and took off. She has been charged with shoplifting in excess of $100 and conspiracy.

While the gentleman’s evening activities with his lady-friend may have been over…the officers felt that they were deserving of some quality time with him too. They followed the man outside and detectives saw him get into his car to leave the area.
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Monday saw the dawning of a new week. Boston-area newspapers, however, are discussing what is really an old problem. The subject of illegal possession of firearms is once again in focus. Let’s take a story from the town of Lawrence, for example. Police say that a 20 year old gentleman, Emmanuel M. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) will now be needing the help of a criminal defense attorney due to his arrest early Saturday for firing a gun in the middle of West Street.

When police were dispatched to a pizza shop near Cross Street and Broadway shortly after midnight, they say they noticed the Defendant pull out a black handgun and begin to run.

Well, kinda run.

After tripping several times as he dodged police cruisers – bouncing off one – the Defendant is said to have thrown his gun over a 3-foot high fence on Holly St. as he was wrestled to the ground by Officer Carleton Trombly.

Officer Christopher Bussey assisted Trombly in arresting the Defendant. Police said they believe that the Defendant had been drinking as they smelled the odor of alcohol on his breath and found a 1-liter bottle of vodka in his backpack that was half full. The police also say they recovered a .22-caliber handgun with a spent casing in the chamber Continue reading

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In Massachusetts and beyond, criminal defense attorneys are seeing more and more arrests being linked to the recent scrutiny of Craigslist. Last week, we spoke of the matter of the “Craigslist Killer” and the attention he has brought to the website’s listing of sexually enticing advertisements. Now, it seems, the website is everywhere and eagerly mentioned when a resulting criminal matter goes to press.

For example, let’s take the case of 42-year-old Deryck R. (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He is, or was, a roommate to two sisters in Quincy. They now allege that, as one of the sisters stepped out of the shower, Defendant 1 was pointing a cell phone camera in her direction, filming her. The sisters called the police, who searched the apartment and found video equipment, laptops and a camcorder in Defendant 1’s room.

The sisters had found Defendant 1 through Craigslist. The headline of the story posted by Channel 7 News was “Craigslist roommate arrested after spying“.
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‘Tis the season of high school proms. As a parent, I know the worry about what
“the kids” are doing out there. It did not occur to me that the adults in charge of the kids might need some worrying too. However, take Boston-area limosine driver, Brain H., 45 of Tewksbury, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). Friday night, he was given the news that when this week began, he would be trading in his license for a new relationship…with a criminal defense attorney,

He was arrested in Lowell and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol…while transporting a group of high school students after the prom.

You see, a group of Lowell Catholic High School students hired the limosine from Lynette’s Limousine Service for the prom on Friday evening. However, during the outing, according to police, two of the girls noticed that the driver was driving erratically. One of them called a parent when the limo stopped at the Showcase Cinema at 32 Reiss Ave., police said.

Apparently, the students became suspicious that the Defendant ‘s driving abilities had been hampered by drinking during the trip because he kept getting lost and repeatedly veered onto the rumble strips on the side of the road. According to the students, the situation got so bad that the students demanded that the Defendant pull over the limousine, which is why they stopped in the movie theater parking lot.

Officers said the parent who had been called immediately contacted Lowell police and the Defendant was arrested at the movie theater at 11:40 p.m.

According to police, the Defendant had initially left the area when the students refused to get back into the car, but returned shortly after, pleaded for the students to forgive him, and tried to convince them to get back into the limo. At one point he is said to have “…actually put his hands in the praying position and said ‘Please, I’m sorry, I made a mistake,” according to the students.

The students did not go for it and the parents are likewise not in a forgiving mood.
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Today, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog goes to Framingham…figuratively…where recent troubles seem to have taken place on both sides of the seriousness spectrum.

Let’s start with Adilson D., 37 (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He was displeased about a recent interaction with local police. So, while the rest of Massachusetts was focxussing on the weekend heat wave, he spent his early Sunday morning hours apparently repeatedly called 911 to voice his displeasure.

They did not appreciate the criticism.

Law enforcement arrived at Defendant 1’s home to arrest him, at approximately 5:47a.m., which happened, believe it or not, after a “brief struggle”, according to, Deputy Police Chief Craig Davis .

Defendant 1’s 911 complaint calls began at 4:30 a.m.. He said he was upset about being pulled over and that he had been abused by the police.

The 911 dispatcher told him to call the main phone line to make such a complaint, Davis said.

So, naturally, he continued to call 911 eight more times by 5:30 a.m.
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A north of Boston attorney has found herself on the chair most often occupied by her clients. At least, that is, in court. Otherwise, she is in custody, held without bail, for driving offenses.

Tracy T., 32, of Revere (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is being held without bail on what the Commonwealth alleges to be her third drunk driving charge. Well, that was one reason.

The other reason, according to prosecutors, is that she gave false information to the patrolman who stopped her.

The alleged event took place in Marblehead last Thursday morning. The Defendant was pulled over by police. Upon questioning, she is said to have given the police a phony name, date of birth and a Social Security number that turned out to be that of an elderly man. She said she didn’t have her license on her, then told the officer that it was expired.

When police determined who she was, The Defendant became apologetic and then allegedly gave the kicker line, “You aren’t going to arrest me, are you? I can’t get arrested. I am an attorney,” according to police.

Given that her line of argument was not persuasive under the circumstances (which allegedly include her failing two of three field sobriety tests and then registering a .22, more than three times the legal limit, on a portable Breathalyzer, the answer was in the affirmative.
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As the rest of us in the Boston area were experiencing the upcoming summer heat, a few individuals were feeling heat of another kind, courtesy of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.

District Attorney Leone announced last week that a Malden Treasury employee and nine others have been indicted for allegedly embezzling more than $518,000 in city property tax receipts.

Gia D., 27, of Georgetown (hereinafter the “Defendant”), was charged by a Middlesex grand jury on one count of larceny over $250 and a separate count of conspiracy to commit larceny.

The Defendant and a co-defendant, Alan V., 32 of Malden (hereinafter, “Co-Defendant One”), had been arrested last November. Since then, however, the investigation has continued and has now resulted in indictments for the Defendant, Co-Defendant 1 and 8 others in the same alleged conspiracy.

As they were indicted by a grand jury, these are felony charges.

According to District Attorney Leone, none of those indicted, other than the Defendant, are Malden city employees.

The alleged white collar conspiracy involved funds that kept in the Malden Treasury that had come from property owners who had overpaid their property taxes. In 2006, Malden began publishing the list of residents who had overpaid their taxes so that the overpayments could be reclaimed.

Of course, the whole idea was that the funds would be reclaimed by the people who had overpaid. According to the Commonwealth, however, the Defendant and company thought they had a better idea.
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