Felonies and Violent Crimes

January 31, 2009

Convicted Massachusetts Rapist Claims He Isn’t A Pedophile

In an interview with the Patriot Ledger, convicted Massachusetts Level 3 sex offender Alvin B. Fields Jr. says he is not a danger to his community. Fields, a Plymouth resident, appeared in Plymouth District Court last week after he was apprehended for taking his clothes off in front of an Old Navy at a Massachusetts mall. In the last four years, Fields has been arrested a number of times for exposing himself in public. In 2005, he was convicted for statutory rape.

Fields says he never exposed himself in front of the Old Navy store. He also says that he did not know that the teenager he slept with, leading to his Massachusetts rape conviction, was only 13. He says that he pleaded guilty in that case and was given a lenient sentence due to extenuating circumstances.

Fields’s victim, however, says that she met him at a Quincy parking lot and he served her alcohol. She says she passed out and woke up to find Fields having sexual intercourse with her.

He was sentenced to a two-year prison term and a lifetime of parole, which means he could go back to jail for another arrest. However, the charges against him involving public exposure are not offenses that can be applied under this parole.

Levels of Sex Offenders in Massachusetts
Level 1: The Sex Offender Registry Board finds that the chance of the offender committing another sexual offense is low, as is his or her degree of dangerousness to the public.

Level 2: The Board considers this offender’s risk of reoffense and dangerousness to be moderate.

Level 3: The sexual reoffender is considered at “high risk” for reoffending and his or her degree of dangerousness to the public is determined to be substantial.

Fields was on Massachusetts’s 2006 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list because he did not register as a sex offender.

Level 3 sex offender: “I am not a pedophile”,Enterprise News, January 29, 2009
Levels of Sex Offenders, Mass.gov
Related Web Resource:
WANTED: High Risk Sex Offenders, Mass.gov Continue reading

January 29, 2009

Yesterday’s Boston-Area Shooter Found And Set To Meet Lawyer And Judge Today

by Altman & Altman

This time it was not a post office or in the city of Boston. It was a Cambridge supply company where two employees did not get along. Clyde H. 65, of Brookline (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is now accused ending the feud by killing his adversary, Marurice R, 33, (hereinafter, the “Victim”). At arraignment today, somebody ought to tell his attorney not to argue with his new client, just in case he is not one of our daily readers.

It was the first homicide in Cambridge in more than a year.

The shooting took place yesterday morning at the Baystate Pool Supplies complex on Smith Street. Co-workers watched in horror as the Defendant allegedly gunned down the Victim at the complex. chasing him outside to finish him off, authorities said. While the reason for the dispute remains unknown, police say that the two had been arguing for months.

“There was an ongoing dispute between the two employees,” said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone at a press conference at the Cambridge Police Department. “The dispute unfortunately resulted in this tragic death.”

The Defendant allegedly used a handgun to blast the Victim once inside the building, then chased him outside and shot him multiple times, including at least once in the head and torso, authorities said.
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January 22, 2009

Homicides, Assaults, Rape And Carnage In Shooting Spree One Hour South Of Boston

by Altman & Altman

Kieth L, 22, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), described by the Boston Herald as a “mama’s boy” is in big trouble today. He is scheduled to stand before a judge in Brockton Court. At this very moment, his attorney is wondering what he can say to get his client out on bail.

He may as well not even try. His client is not going anywhere.

The Defendant is charged with the most serious of charges, stemming out of an extremely violent scene in Brockton yesterday. He is alleged to have been raping a handcuffed Cape Verdean woman when the woman’s sister walked in. He is said to have shot the “intruder” to death and shooting the rape victim several times as she ran for help.

An elderly homeless man who may have witnessed the carnage in the middle of Clinton Street was also gunned down,, while two hero Brockton cops who captured the rampaging gunman cheated death by inches
A neighbor who lives across the street from the sisters said the surviving sibling still had handcuffs dangling from one wrist when he ran outside to assist them after hearing gunshots.
“I looked outside and saw one of the girls running, blood all over her,” he said. “I grabbed her and sat her down and told her to hang on while I ran to her sister, who I could see a distance away. But I could see her sister was already dead.”
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January 22, 2009

Appeals Court Delays Director Roman Polanski’s Hearing on Whether to Dismiss 1978 Child Rape Case Against Him

by Altman & Altman

An appeals court has issued a stay on proceedings to determine whether to dismiss Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski’s bid to have a 31-year-old sex with a minor case dismissed. The 75-year-old filmmaker’s criminal defense team claims there is new, uncontested evidence of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct that deprived the 75-year-old filmmaker of his statutory and constitutional rights.

The exiled movie directed pleaded guilty in 1978 to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female at the house of Academy Award winning movie star Jack Nicholson. Polanski was sentenced to 3-months at a psychiatric center. After about a month and a half at the facility, he was released. When it appeared that he would receive additional sentencing, Polanski left the United States and hasn’t returned since.

The movie director is now seeking to have the case dismissed after a 2008 documentary, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” brought some of these new allegations against the judge and prosecutors to light. Now, the director’s criminal defense team wants the child rape case moved out of Los Angeles.

Polanski’s then-teenaged victim, Samantha Geimer, is now 45. She has asked that the case against the director be dismissed. She says she doesn’t want to be further traumatized by having the details of the child rape case repeatedly rehashed. She also believes prosecutors are trying to take the focus away from their alleged wrongdoings in the case. Although prosecutors want Polanski to return to the US to be present for the proceedings, there is a warrant for his arrest if he does appear in court.

Polanski wins a stay on hearing in child-sex case, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2009
Rape victim urges prosecutor drop charges against Polanski, AFP, January 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, HBO.com
Roman Polanski Media Reports Archive, The Zero.com Continue reading

January 16, 2009

Boston Shooting Defendants’ Attorneys Are Successful At Getting Lower Sentences And The Fury Of The Police Department

by Altman & Altman

It began in early January, 2008, when three Boston men were brought to court, introduced to defense lawyers and advised of charges against them. The charges included shooting at a Brockton police officer during a chase from Brockton into Quincy.

As is usually the case, the police had won the chase and Salomao T. (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”), Faustino R. (hereinafter, “Defendant 2”) and Antonio D. (hereinafter, “Defendant 3”) were arrested.

They faced charges including possession of a weapon, assault and the like for the high speed chase and shooting.

The law enforcement community was so happy, the following was posted on January 6, 2008, about the incident at www.masscops.com:

Re: Police Chase out of Brockton, Shots Fired
________________________________________ The short version is the BPD were chasing shooting suspects in a car that fled all the way to Quincy. The bad guys are believed to have shot a few times at the cops as they were being chased. A BPD officer returned fire through his windshield (passenger officer of 2 man cruiser). A couple of cruisers crashed and so did the bad guys. 3 suspects in custody with a gun recovered.

Great Job by all involved!!!!!!!

Well, now a year later, the police are not so thrilled. Neither is the prosecutor. Who are they upset with?

Why, the judge, of course.
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January 15, 2009

Boston Appeals Court Finds Defense Lawyer in Drive-By Shooting Case Ineffective

by Altman & Altman

On Tuesday, the state Appeals Court, located in Boston, granted Adam N. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”)’s appeal and Ordered that he receive a hearing in a drive-by shooting case in which he had been convicted in 2004. The basis of the ruling was that he had been deprived of a fair trial because his attorney was “ineffective”.

The Appeals Court sent the case back to Hampden Superior Court for the hearing. The Defendant’s appellate attorney said she is pleased with the Appeals Court ruling, although she would have preferred an order for a new trial without the hearing.

The case stems from December 20, 2002, when the Defendant is said to have participated in a drive-by shooting of two individuals, Akers and Cope, in downtown Springfield. According to the Court:

“The traffic light turned green. As Akers pulled away from the stop, he and the passenger in the other vehicle simultaneously rolled down their windows. At the same time, Akers reached to his right for the volume control on his car radio, in order to turn it down. He then heard gun shots. Akers saw the face of the front passenger and saw a flash coming from what he thought was a gun in the passenger’s hand; Cope saw flashes, but did not see the passenger’s face. The exchange lasted a few seconds. Both Akers and Cope were struck by bullets in their legs.”

The police were given the description of “three light-skinned black males, all very young looking.” The witnesses were also able to describe the vehicle as “a dark colored car, possibly a Nissan or Honda, with tinted windows”. Later, in the hospital, the shooting victims discussed their recollections and one stated that the shooter “looked like a [Defendant’s last name] that he went to school with that was younger.”
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January 14, 2009

Murder Trial Finally Begins After North Of Boston Lawyer And Doctors Examine Client And Her Statements

by Altman & Altman

As a defense lawyer, one occasionally handles cases that seemingly will not end. Through my years in Boston and environs, I have had more than my share.

This case was probably regarded as one of those cases.

62- year-old Kathleen H. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is finally going to trial. She is charged with setting a fire that killed five people ten years ago. The trial started this week in Lawrence Superior Court.

Prosecutors say that she set a fire at a Lynn home where her son’s ex-girlfriend lived because she wouldn’t let him see his two kids. The ex-girlfriend and the Defendant’s grandchildren survived, but members of another family that lived in the same building died. The deaths included Heriberto Feliciano, 34, his wife, Sonia Hernandez, 32; their daughters, Sonia, 12, and Maria, 13; and their niece, Glorimar Santiago,11, who was sleeping over. All died from smoke inhalation.

The Defendant is charged with five counts of second-degree murder as well as a single count of arson.

She has been held in jail for a decade while her lawyer fought to keep the jury from hearing an alleged confession she made after the February. 24, 1999, blaze, as well as to determine her competency to stand trial.
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January 13, 2009

New Bedford Man Charged with Killing His Ex-Girlfriend and Mother and Kidnapping 12-Year-Old Girl Has Prior Assault and Battery Convictions

by Altman & Altman

The Boston Herald is reporting that the New Bedford man charged with the murders of his mother and ex-girlfriend and in the kidnapping of a 12-year-old daughter has previous criminal convictions going back as far as 1992. Gary Gomes was arrested and charged last week after the two women’s bodies were discovered.

His mother Katherine Gomes’s body was found under an inflatable bed in her apartment. The body of Gary’s ex-girlfriend, Robyn Mendes, was found in another room. Both women had been fatally stabbed.

Prosecutors claim that Gomes dressed up Mendes’s body and put make up on her face after he murdered her. Gomes is also accused of going to Mendes’s house after the slayings and holding her 12-year-old daughter hostage while waiting for her husband to arrive so that he could kill him.

January 9, 2009

Boston’s Attorney General Targets Harassment And Hate Crimes

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday’s daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog talked about “Road Rage“. I even mentioned “Domestic Violence” cases. Today, we hit their cousin, “Hate Crimes“.

Hate Crimes is another category which brings extra focus on a case which otherwise might be a typical assault, threats or other such case. What makes a case a hate crime is the rationale behind the crime. If it is motivated by racial, gender or other kind of prejudice, it is a hate crime and gets special treatment. In fact, in the federal system, an additional count regarding civil rights violations can be brought.

Today’s example involves Debroah M. of Norwood (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) who has come to the attention of Attorney General Martha Coakley who has taken action against her. The Defendant is alleged to have repeatedly harassed a gay neighbor.

The neighbor is a tenant in the same apartment building where the Defendant lives. The Defendant is said to have been engaging in the harassment for a long time. In November, 2007, for example, officials said she began spreading false rumors that the victim is a sexual predator and pedophile.

A complaint was filed December 31st by the Attorney General. It alleges how the Defendant harassed the victim in a number of ways, including spreading false rumors that he was a sexual predator and pedophile, screaming anti-gay epithets at him, and falsely reporting to police that he had exposed himself.
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January 6, 2009

Boston Area Ex-Cop threatens to kill police and winds up on the side of the aisle with the defense lawyer

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday, it was a former Boston police officer who found himself on the other side of the criminal justice aisle needing a criminal lawyer.

Ex-Boston Police Officer Isaac T., 43, of Arlington (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) ‘s legal problems began in the early morning hours of this past Saturday when he was allegedly observed to be drunk and carrying a BPD badge and a loaded 9 mm handgun when he was arrested at a Dorchester bar.

“Arrested? What would bring him to law enforcement attention?”

Well, he kind of said he would shoot a cop, according to prosecutors. In fact, he apparently said that he was carrying the firearm for the purpose of doing just that, according to MSNBC.

It was Saturday at about 1:30 a.m. at the Dublin House in Dorchester. After hearing the ex-guardian of society’s comments, an anonymous call was made to 911 from the pub to report the overheard threat. The Defendant was described as a man wearing a New York Yankees hat…which is sometimes considered a crime in itself in the area.

And so it was that the police confronted the Defendant outside the bar. Actually, he was hiding in a doorway next door to the nightclub when they confronted him.

They frisked him and found the 9 mm Beretta handgun. Apparently a loyal member of the “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” Club, the Defendant is said to have engaged in a “violent struggle” with two officers, the prosecutor later told the court in a bail hearing.

The Defendant, it would appear, did not win that struggle.
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