Articles Posted in Felonies and Violent Crimes

When what promises to be a Boston arrest warrant matter filled case like this one hits the news, you may remember my oft-times repeated warning this Boston criminal lawyer gives his readers.

I always warn you that if you are approached or flagged down by law enforcement, it is best to neither attempt to out-talk, out-fight or out-run; you will not win.

Well, you may want to quarrel with me on this after this story.

You see, yesterday, Randolph and State Police had occasion to chase three suspected thieves into Dorchester and downtown Boston. However, they came up empty, even with the help of a police dog.

The action began when a resident of an apartment complex looked out at 5 a.m. and allegedly saw someone breaking into their black Honda Civic. And so a call was made to the police.

The officers apparently arrived as the Civic was driven off with two men wearing hooded sweatshirts inside the vehicle. The police say that the suspects also had an accomplice driving a Dodge Caravan with them for assistance. “Assistance” here basically amounted to speeding away, along with the Civic, when Randolph police arrived.

The chase was on.

The chase continued to Interstate 93 northbound, where State Police joined the pursuit, authorities said. The Civic then drove off onto Morrissey Boulevard. There, the Civic crashed near Dunkin’ Donuts. The driver of the Civic drove on the Southeast Expressway until the Freeport Street exit and then drove onto Morrissey Boulevard.

The two men inside ran off…and got away.

Meanwhile, the driver of the Caravan managed to elude pursuers once he reached the Central Artery tunnel.

Three – zero. Bad day for law enforcement.
Continue reading

Early last Wednesday morning was a busy time for the Boston Police Department. As a result, three gentlemen from Dorchester, Roxbury and West Roxbury now face various criminal charges in connection with various Massachusetts felonies.

It was last Wednesday morning, prior to 1:00 a.m. An officer says he heard shots fired and then the screeching of tires and acceleration of an engine in Boston’s Selden Street area . He then observed a black 2002 Nissan Maxima speeding by. The officer reports that he tried to stop the car, which accelerated to 60 miles per hour in a residential area. The chase continued and the Nissan is said to have accelerated to over 80 mph during the chase.

Lawrence Perryman, 20, of Dorchester, was behind the wheel of the Nissan. A witness told police that while on Crowell Street, two individuals had been shot at by a black male in a black vehicle, police said. A gunshot victim admitted himself to Carney Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury around the time the officer began pursuing Perryman in the black Nissan.

Perryman was held at gunpoint until he was arrested. Police found that Perryman’s driver window was open, and subsequently found a silver revolver with a black handle in front of 630 Gallivan Blvd., police said. The weapon had damage consistent with being slid across the pavement.

Around the same time, officers were flagged down by someone who reported being kidnapped and robbed by two armed suspects, the statement said. According to the statement, the complainants were allegedly walking down Blue Hill Avenue when they were approached by the suspects in a “white school van.” The suspects are said to have produced a gun and forced the victim into the van at knifepoint, police said.

The victim was driven to the area of Burrell Street, robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash, and then let go, according to the statement.

Officers located the van on Stoughton Street based on its description, and it was soon brought to a stop. The suspects were identified and arrested, police said.

Mr. Perryman was charged with assault with intent to murder, possession of a firearm, violations of the firearm laws, and motor vehicle crimes, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department for the morning’s festivities.

The other two gents, Kevin Ford, 38, of West Roxbury, and Joseph Hofges, 36, of Roxbury, were awarded with multiple charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping, in the second incident.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts Guns And Violent Crimes

None of the various alleged criminal acts mentioned in today’s Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog are particularly slight indiscretions. Most of them are Massachusetts violent felonies. However, adding a deadly weapon, particularly a gun, into the mix makes the matters more serious immediately.
Continue reading

It seems to this Boston criminal lawyer that MA white collar criminal prosecutions seem to have become the “in” thing over the past couple of years. The most recent setting Boston’s federal court and the headline-grabbing sentencing arguments involved in the sentencing of Former House Speaker Sal DiMasi.

Yesterday, it was announced that another ex-public servant is looking down the barrel of the criminal justice system. This time, it is state court. To be specific, a Suffolk County grand jury has indicted former probation commissioner John O’Brien (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) on charges that he traded political donations to former state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill in exchange for a job for his Mrs. O’Brien.

The grand jury also indicted the Defendant’s chief of staff at the time, Scott Campbell, who handled personnel matters for Cahill. This would indicate that the Boston white collar crime is also being prosecuted as a Boston criminal conspiracy case.

By the way, Cahill was apparently not indicted.

The indictments were handed down in June and unsealed today, according to one source. The two men are expected to be arraigned next week.

The investigation was handled by Attorney General Martha Coakley. However, an independent counsel had been called in to investigate the charges of political patronage in the Probation Department this past November. This was apparently in response to the Boston Globe Spotlight Team series releasing a report portraying the agency as rife with patronage. The special counsel, Paul F. Ware Jr., launched his probe and, since, federal and state officials continued the investigation into allegations of rigged hiring, illegal campaign contributions, and other abuses. This would include alleged orchestration of donations by the Defendant in order to boot job prospects for his wife and, perhaps, his daughter.

If the Commonwealth’s allegations are true, Boston Probation’s part in criminal justice became a game the whole family could play!

Until now, there have been resignations, but not criminal prosecutions in connection to what might become known as “Probation-Gate“.

Today, it was Ware’s moment to shine in the limelight. He declared, “The return of the indictment today against former Commissioner O’Brien and the chief of staff of the state treasurer’s office is to be expected. To me, it is confirmation of the facts found during the course of my investigation… State jobs should not be a dividend for the connected nor for existing state employees in responsible positions. This charge strikes another blow to corruption in state government,”

Attorney Sam’s Take On Federal Investigations And Prosecutions

“Hey, Sam, how do the prosecutors decide who they will and who they will not indict?”

Continue reading

Well, the state court certainly wants your attention this week, doesn’t it?

Yesterday, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog discussed your receiving a summons to go to court for an arraignment. Today, it is not so bad…but it is certainly cause for concern. You have received a summons requiring you to appear before a Grand Jury.

We have discussed Grand Juries before. In order to get an indictment and move a criminal case from district court to superior court, the Commonwealth presents evidence before a room full of jurors called a “Grand Jury”. After presenting that evidence, the prosecutor asks the jurors to return a “true bill”, or an Indictment.

The Grand Jury then votes to either return the Indictment as requested or not to do so.

Are you wondering what the chances are that the prosecutor will get his or her request?

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts Grand Jury Summonses

There is an old addage that answers that query. It is that a prosecutor could indict a ham sandwhich if he tried. In other words, at least in Massachusetts, it is rare that a Grand Jury does not does not return the charges requested by the prosecutor.
Continue reading

Sometimes, as we look across the globe (the round one, not the newspaper), we are appalled at the hatred and inhumanity that we see.

Why, just look at the recent matter in Norway. Anders Behring Breivik is grabbing his 15 minutes of fame (or infamy) by his various statements after his horrendous twin attacks of hatred in Oslo. The death toll? Many. The reason? Racial hatred.

Now, the authorities are trying to get a handle on whether or not he acted alone. He seems to keep changing his mind.

Breivik is charged under criminal law with “acts of terrorism,” including an attempt to “disturb or destroy the functions of society, such as the government” and to spread “serious fear” among the population.

His explanation is that he “believes that he needed to carry out these acts to save Norway” and Western Europe from “cultural Marxism and Muslim domination.” He had wanted his case to be held in an open proceeding. Most believe that this was so that he could further publicize his anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim ideas.

In the words of Rodney King, we think, “Can’t we all get along?” Then we think…why can’t the rest of the world be more civilized…like us?

And then…we are forced to remember that racism and hatred are still alive and well and living here. Not so long ago, a man was convicted for his attacks which included burning down a church because the congregation was comprised of African-Americans. We often hear about attacks on graveyards because the graves are filled with Jews.

Today, the Globe (the paper, not the round one) tells us about Jeffrey Smith (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), a 46-year=old Massachusetts man who has pleaded guilty to sending letters threatening to burn black churches and NAACP offices in three states. Specifically, the targeted seven predominantly black churches and four NAACP offices were in Cambridge, Roxbury and Medford in Massachusetts; Providence, R.I.; and Charlotte, N.C.

And what was the reason for these threats of arson?

Well, it seems that the Defendant does not like the fact that African-Americans are currently leaders in our Commonwealth and in our country. His letters apparently indicated that he didn’t like African-Americans or minorities as his office supervisors “nor I like them as President of the United States.”

Bad timing, I suppose. Better it should be a couple hundred years ago when they were slaves who’s families we could tear apart at will at auction.

The Defendant was sentenced to 15 months in prison…which was basically “time served” because he had been incarcerated while awaiting trial. After sentencing, the Defendant was released to the custody of the Department of Mental Health .

Attorney Sam’s Take On Hate Crimes

Let us be clear on the law here.

While Americans allegedly have the right to “free speech”, there are limits. There have to be in order to have any kind of organized society.

Even an experienced criminal defense attorney has to admit that.
Continue reading

Not many cases are as tragic, from any perspective, as the drama being played out in Concord today. I am referring to Julianne McCrery, 42, who will soon need an experienced homicide attorney in New Hampshire. She was arrested in Chelmsford, is held as a fugitive and is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”.

On the periphery, there are the typical cast of characters. There are the various family members and friends who describe the Defendant as “troubled” and swear that she would never hurt her child. There are the casual observers who saw her at what is assumed to be the time of her son’s death who describe her as “not a nice person”, disheveled and quiet based on barely any interaction at all, yet apparently worth mentioning in news accounts.

And, in the heart of it is a dead child. The boy who was found dead days ago, left unidentified. The 6-year-old boy for whom authorities searched until they found a name…and a mother. A mother who has apparently confessed to killing him.

The chief medical examiner of Maine has determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation, although the final determination is pending further study.

The suspected cause of the asphyxiation? Too much cough syrup.

Indeed, a close friend describes that the boy had had a bad cough.
Continue reading