Kidnapping

May 5, 2008

Massachusetts Man Apprehended After Amber Alert Is Issued Pleads Not Guilty to Kidnapping His Son

In Cambridge District Court last week, Arlington resident Michael Whalen pled not guilty to kidnapping, threats, and receiving stolen property over $250. A statewide Amber Alert had been issued in Massachusetts on Wednesday after Whalen’s six-month-old son Lucas disappeared.

The baby’s disappearance happened after a Massachusetts Probate and Family Court judge awarded custody of Lucas to his aunt, Sheila Boyle, who cited concern over the baby’s well-being as reason for the custody request. When Boyle went to retrieve the baby, he was gone.

A Massachusetts prosecutor said that Michael, 42, had threatened to kill Lucas, shoot five people, and commit suicide if anyone tried to take his son. A SWAT team arrested him on Thursday after his rental car was discovered at a Burlington hotel parking lot. Because the car was overdue, he was charged with receiving stolen property.

Lucas was found with Danielle Boyle, who is the baby’s mother and Michael’s girlfriend. A cab driver took Danielle and Lucas to the Arlington police station because she did not have money to pay for her taxi ride. She has not been charged with committing a crime.

Michael’s lawyer says no one saw baby Lucas with his father after he disappeared. In Massachusetts, a parental kidnapping conviction comes with a maximum sentence of one year in the house of corrections.

According to the DSS, the couple has two other children that were put up for adoption after the parents’ legal rights were terminated.

Michael was ordered held on $25,000 bond. He has 72 prior criminal convictions-many of them for minor traffic violations.

Infant’s father charged after Amber Alert set off, Boston.com, May 2, 2008
Prosecutor: Arlington father threatened to kill 6-month-old son in rampage, May 1, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Amber Alert
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January 31, 2008

Man Who Kidnapped Two Boys to Serve 74 Life Sentences in Solitary Confinement

by Altman & Altman

Michael Devlin, a 42-year-old former pizza shop manager who kidnapped two boys and keeping one of them with him for more than four years, has started serving his 74 life terms in solitary confinement. He has also been sentenced to 170 years in Federal prison.

He will serve out his sentences at the maximum-security prison in Cameron. His cell is located in “administrative segregation” and he will be confined nearly all the time. He will not have any contact with the other inmates and he is not allowed any physical contact with any visitors. Devlin will be allowed an hour of recreation three times a week and a shower every third day.

Federal and state prosecutors had charged Devlin with multiple counts of sexual abuse, abduction, and kidnapping. Last October, Devlin, pled guilty in three Missouri counties and in federal court to abducting Shawn Hornbeck, 11, in 2002 and Ben Ownby, 13, in January 2007.

The two boys were found at Devlin’s residence in St. Louis County four days after Ownby’s kidnapping. Devlin was arrested on January 12, 2007.

Both boys have not discussed their ordeal public. According to news reports, however, Shawn, now 16, was tortured and sexually abused by Devlin. Shawn was with Devlin for over four years. Devlin had Shawn pose as his son. Shawn was reportedly too scared of Devlin to let people know who he really was.

A person who is arrested or charged for allegedly committing any crime, including kidnapping or a sexual crime, is entitled to the services of an experienced criminal defense team that is committed to protecting the defendant’s legal rights. Our Boston, Massachusetts criminal defense law firm represents criminal defense clients who are under investigation or have been charged with crimes in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Justice Department says that some 800,000 children in the United States are reported missing every year. A little over 260,000 of these cases involve an actual abduction. About 204,000 of the incidents usually involve some sort of family custody dispute. 58,000 of the cases involve children who were abducted by someone that is not a relative. 115 of these abductions involve victims who are taken away by permanently, held for ransom or are murdered.

Kidnapper’s future: 74 life terms completely alone, CNN.com, January 31, 2008
A year after ordeal ended, kidnapped boy doing well, MSNBC.com, January 11, 2008
Life returning to normal for Ben Ownby, MSNBC.com, January 8, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Child Abduction, Analysis, The Crime Library

Child Abduction Facts, Parents.com Continue reading

September 19, 2007

OJ Simpson Now Charged With Kidnapping—and 10 Other Charges—in Las Vegas Casino Hotel Robbery Case

by Altman & Altman

There are now 11 formal criminal charges against former football hero O.J. Simpson in the alleged armed robbery crime at a hotel room in the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday. 10 of the charges are for felony crimes and include kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.

According to prosecutors, Simpson committed kidnapping-along with his co-defendants-because they meant to detain or hold the two alleged robbery victims. The ex-football player and three other people are accused of pointed guns at sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley and collector Bruce Fromong while they stole the sports memorabilia, Beardsley’s sunglasses and baseball cap, and Fromong’s cell phone from the room. Fromong, who suffered a massive heart attack after the alleged robbery is in critical condition at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police say that Simpson allegedly masterminded the armed robbery-although he has denied that a robbery ever took place or that there were guns involved. Two guns, however, were recovered.

In an audiotape recording, Simpson can be overheard ordering the men around and accusing someone of stealing from him. He claims that the items he recovered belonged to him and were stolen from him.

Simpson was released from jail after paying $125,000 in bail. His arraignment is scheduled for October 22. He is expected to plead not guilty to the criminal charges.

Kidnapping In Massachusetts, kidnapping is considered a crime against a person that is punishable for up to 10 years in prison. Massachusetts General Laws, Crimes Against the Person – Chapter 265, Section 26, describes kidnapping as the confinement or imprisonment of a person secretly, forcibly, or without lawful authority and against the person’s will.

Kidnapping is considered a very serious felony crime. Kidnapping, accompanied by the extortion of money or other valuables, can be grounds for a lifetime prison sentence.

Simpson released from jail, CNN.com, September 19, 2007
Prosecutors charge O.J. Simpson and three others, CNN.com, September 18, 2007
Massachusetts General Laws – Crimes Against the Person – Chapter 265, Section 26,

Related Web Resources:

O.J. Simpson Biography
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