Articles Posted in Illegal Weapons Possession

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The are many theft-related crimes for which one can get arrested in the Boston area. Among the most serious are those of Robbery and Burglary. Both are generally regarded as crimes of violence. Both carry heavy potential prison terms. For both, you had best get an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you at the first possible moment.

The crime of Robbery is basically the taking of someone’s property through use of force. The force can come from a gun, a knife or even a fist. It can be the words “I am going to beat you to a bloody pulp”.
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A grand jury has indicted Plaxico Burress, the former wide receiver for the New York Giants. The criminal charges include two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment.

If convicted for the weapons charges, Burress, 31, could face 3.5 to 15 years in prison. He could be ordered to serve up to one year for reckless endangerment. If he is convicted of all charges, he could serve his sentences concurrently.

Burress already has pleaded not guilty to the weapons charges. He is free on $100,000 bail.

The incident leading to the criminal charges against Burress occurred last November after the football star and Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce went to a nightclub. Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh and was taken to a hospital.

Burress is not licensed to carry a gun in New York. Just hours before the incident, the Giants had decided he couldn’t play in the next football game because he had strained his hamstring in the leg that he shot.

Pierce was not indicted on any criminal charges.

Burress caught the winning touchdown during last year’s Superbowl when the Giants defeated the New England Patriots. He is currently a free agent.

In Massachusetts, gun charges can be tough to combat unless you’ve got an experienced Boston illegal weapons possessions law firm representing you. The state has very strict gun laws that come with harsh penalties for offenders. However, there may be reasons why weapons possessions charges against you should be dropped or reduced.

Reports: Burress Is Indicted by Grand Jury, Washington Post, August 4, 2009
Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself Accidentally, New York Times, August 4, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Plaxico Burress

The General Laws of Massachusetts
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Hey, remember the old days when a person actually did not have to talk to the police if he did not want to? Those were the days when we had the right to remain silent and…wait a minute. That’s today. So, now I am confused. Why is someone in the Boston area in need of a criminal defense attorney because of his dealings with the police?

I mean, if you can refuse to talk to the police officers, you can lie alittle to protect yourself, can’t you? After all, the law is clear that the police are allowed to lie to non-police types. Fair is fair, right?

Uhh….no. Actually, that would be a felony.

It is a lesson that a co-owner of a Boston nightclub, Shawn D. 29, of Billerica (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is learning. He has been indicted for allegedly destroying evidence and lying to Boston police as they investigated a shooting outside his nightclub on New Year’s Day.
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As promised, our weekly “Attorney Sam’s Take” discussion completes our examination of how involvement in the criminal justice system effects students.

We have discussed how, beyond the obvious, the arrest of a juvenile student in Massachusetts can seriously effect that student’s future plans. We have also mentioned how the earliest consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney is vital in order to best attempt to prevent, or at least minimize, damage.

Of course, not all students are juveniles. Some are already adults. There are a few big differences. Remember how I wrote about the Juvenile System’s concerns being primarily rehabilitative? Well, such is not the case with adults. Further, while a juvenile’s prior record is often disregarded…no such luck for the adult.

The result of these differences?

Harsher realities.

Let’s take an example.

Last Thursday, 18-year-old Kyle R. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) had a bit of trouble with the Taunton police. It seems he is being accused of driving drunk (aka OUI). Well, maybe a little more. He also faces charges of driving so as to endanger, carrying a dangerous weapon, (a spring-loaded folding knife) and violating the terms of a juvenile operator’s driving license.

“What brought the lad to the attention of the law?”, you ask.

Well, the police say it was his driving his car into a speed limit sign and a fire hydrant just after 1:00 a.m.
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Last week, I posted a blog about a group of do-it-yourself sleuths who tried to solve the murder mystery of fallen 21-year-old Justin C. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) at Harvard University. The result? The investigators they hired ended up arrested instead. That posting, by the way, can be found here. Meantime, the professionals were busy at work trying to solve the murder mystery that had come to Cambridge. The police arrested Jabrai C., 20, of New York, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) for the crime. The Defendant and his lawyer have answered “Not Guilty” to charges of murder, accessory after the fact to murder and Massachusetts possession of a firearm.

The Deceased had been shot in the basement common room in a dormitory of the Cambridge campus. It has been determined that multiple shots were fired at the scene and that there were individuals aside from the Defendant and Deceased, who were present and involved in the shooting.

The Defendant, a New York songwriter, turned himself in to the Cambridge Police, according to the District Attorney’s office of Middlesex County, and will be held without bail until his July 15th hearing. However, the DA has also announced that two female Harvard students are linked to the incident. It is suspected that they allowed those involved in the murder to gain entry to Kirkland House.

Leone declined to comment on what if any charges might be pressed against the two Harvard students, but they both were asked to leave campus and are not be allowed to graduate this month. One of the two women is Chanequa C. (hereinafter, the “Accused”)

“This is a highly educated, independent young woman who has literally been cared for since she was a teenager by Harvard-and now they have terminated her right to be on campus,” the Accused lawyer has complained. “There is no justification for it. She may have known the people involved, but you know, it’s not guilt by association in this country.”
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I remember years ago, before I was a lawyer, growing up in the Boston area and hearing commercials about what happens if you are arrested for possessing a gun. “If you are caught with a gun”, I recall it saying, “you will go to jail for one year…and nobody can get you out”. The tone of the announcement made it clear that the possession of guns was behind the ever-worsening crime problem.

And, then, came the other public service announcements which declared, “Guns don’t kill people, People kill people.”

And so it seemed to me that the obvious solution would be to simply send the guns to jail for a year with no hope them of getting out.

Then came my education at the hands of the Boston University School of Law, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and, finally, my many years as a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney. Throughout these years, I have seen the gun issue from many different perspectives. All of these perspectives get a voice in the realities of the criminal justice system.

The result?

There is no one clear and simple answer as to how gun possession is handled by the courts. As with most things in the criminal justice system, it depends on the circumstances. There is no simple, issue-free gun possession case. This is why you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to guide you through the morass of potential scenarios when facing prosecution for possessing a firearm.

And that is why this week’s Attorney Sam’s Take discussion is about gun possession in Massachusetts.
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Dogs are considered “Man’s Best Friend”. In the Boston area, though, they are particularly close with “man” involved in criminal prosecutions. After almost a quarter century as an attorney, I can finally see the day coming when I may have to cross-examine a pooch. A number of cases this very month underscore the canine war against crime.

Let’s start with a story from the Boston Herald this very Tuesday. Michael P., 52, of Allston (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) had a bit of an altercation with his neighbor’s German shepherd. Yes, the altercation included Defendant1’s assault of the dog.

You see, Defendant 1 says he was frustrated and angry with the dog because it constantly barked at him from behind a fence. For some reason, Defendant1 apparently thought that throwing hot coffee in the dog’s face might clear up the issue.

The police were called to the scene. While the dog’s owner told prosecutors that his dog suffered no injuries, the officers were still able to smell the coffee on the dog’s fur.
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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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In the US District Court in Massachusetts, Assistant US Attorney Suzanne Sullivan is asking Judge Mark L. Wolf not to impose sanctions on her for withholding evidence in a Massachusetts gun case. The federal prosecutor says that she made a mistake when she did not introducing the evidence and she is asking for leniency. The evidence that she withheld could have cleared the defendant.

The federal prosecutor failed to reveal that the testimony that a Boston cop provided at a pretrial hearing contradicted what the office had told her numerous times. It was Judge Wolf who discovered that evidence had been withheld. In January, the judge dismissed the gun charges against Darwin E Jones, who was arrested in the 2007 Boston gun case, and a tentative plea agreement has been reached over Massachusetts drug charges filed against Jones.

Wolf says he is evaluating several sanctions that he could impose against Sullivan. Sanctions could include a fine and/or an order that she and all 90 prosecutors in her office undergo training regarding their constitutional obligation to not withhold this type of evidence.

Wolf says he doesn’t think Sullivan didn’t deliberately intend to not share the evidence but that she withheld the information is an act of reckless disregard and ignorance that is unpardonable. He says that prosecutors in the US Attorney’s Office tend to exhibit a pattern of withholding evidence.

The judge has asked US Attorney General Eric H. Holder to take action against prosecutors that neglect to share certain information that could set defendants free. Wolf notes that the Boston office has a history of committing violations that are “intentional and inadvertent.” His letter to Holder, dated April 23rd, noted not just Sullivan’s error but also Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn’s misconduct against Vinnie Ferrrara and mistakes made during the Bulger era.

Prosecutorial Misconduct
Prosecutorial misconduct can adversely affect a defendant’s case. In certain cases, a person might have been exonerated if only the prosecutor hadn’t engaged in some form of misconduct. An experienced Boston criminal defense law firm can protect you from such misconduct and do everything possible to ensure the best outcome for your Massachusetts criminal case.

Some Examples of Prosecutorial Misconduct:

• Introducing inadmissible evidence in a case • Discriminating against jurors because of their gender or ethnicity
• Mischaracterizing evidence of facts • Withholding evidence • Tampering with evidence • Destroying evidence • Witness tampering • Issuing improper public statements about a suspect/defendant or a criminal case.

Federal prosecutor admits mistake, begs for leniency, Boston Globe, May 12, 2009
Mark Wolf not sheepish about exposing court misconduct, Boston Herald, April 29, 2009
Prosecutorial Misconduct, Justice Works
Related Web Resources:
Chief Judge Blasts US Attorney Over ‘Egregious Failure’ to Disclose, ABA Journal, January 27, 2009
United States Department of Justice
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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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