Murder

November 19, 2008

Massachusetts Juvenile And Adult Turn To Weapons And Assaults To Handle Emotional Issues

Where do people learn such animosity?

Today’s daily blog involves two stories that have to do with dysfunctional family situations. We start with a story from Brockton, Massachusetts, where a 15-year old juvenile (hereinafter, “Juvenile Defendant”) now faces charges for an apparent “teddybearicide”.

Now a guest of the Commonwealth, at least until Thursday, Juvenile Defendant has thus far been charged with possessing an explosive device and disturbing the peace. Additional charges may be forthcoming.

It all began Monday evening when local police and the state police bomb squad responded to a 911 call reporting a potential explosive device that had been attached to a teddy bear and left on Florence Street that afternoon, a fire official said.

“It was a plastic bottle that had a solution inside the bottle that was mixed in a way that, after a period of time, it would explode,” Deputy Fire Chief George Phillips said. “A teddy bear was wrapped around the plastic bottle and it was left in the street.”

A representative from the state fire marshal’s office also responded, Phillips said.
It took authorities about 30 minutes to detonate the device with a robotic machine designed to disarm explosives, Phillips said.
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November 18, 2008

Burglaries Abound Throughout Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

As we drift ever closer to Thanksgiving, it would appear that some people are ready to name the pre-holiday weeks as Thanks! Taking!

In other words, there has been a rash of burglaries throughout the Commonwealth recently.

One rather enterprising culprit is believed to have cut a hole into the roof of a pharmacy in Swampscott, Massachusetts, thereafter stealing some prescription drugs.

It has not been revealed the nature of these drugs…whether they were sedatives for dealing with the holiday jitters, stimulants to help one work overtime in order to afford better Christmas gifts or, simply, a variety of goodies to sell on the street. One thing we do know, however, is that the burglary has left the local law enforcement baffled.

Police said they have no idea how the suspects scaled the walls of the building, but once they got on the roof, it is clear they used a power tool to saw a hole through the sheet metal. They then lowered themselves into the pharmacy. A second hole about the same size, believed to be the exit, was discovered in the wall of the store, according to police.

“Any time someone goes to that extreme you have to wonder just how dangerous they could be if you were to come in contact with them,” said a concerned customer.
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November 17, 2008

Assault On Police And Threats Of Violence Alleged At Massachusetts School

by Altman & Altman

Remember the old cliché “The apple does not fall far from the [alleged] tree”? Well, this North Attleboro tree is apparently growing in the local district court on the criminal justice side of the street.

Last Thursday, a 48 year-old single mother, (hereinafter, ” Mommy Defendant”), was arrested and ordered to stay away from the North Attleboro Middle and High school after she allegedly threatened the middle school principal. This alleged event took place after her son (hereinafter, “Sonny Defendant”), was arrested for an unrelated incident at the school.

Mommy Defendant is said to have driven to the middle school and made threats to kill Principal Victoria Ekk with a gun while in the school office in front of onlookers. Mommy Defendant, however, denies the charges and has pleaded “not guilty” to threats of uttering threats to kill, disturbing a school assembly and disorderly charges.

Her lawyer described Mommy Defendant as a hardworking woman trying to raise a family while working two jobs to make a living. “She has no gun. She doesn’t even know how to use a gun. She’s a single mother struggling to pay bills and raise three children,” the lawyer said.

In fact, school officials had determined before police arrived that Mommy Defendant had no weapon, according to a police report.

Mommy Defendant’s lawyer also described the scene a bit differently, indicating that she had gone to the office calmly and denies making threats or causing a disturbance.
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November 14, 2008

Drunk Driving In Massachusetts – Three Stages Of The Criminal Justice Experience

by Altman & Altman

As we head into another weekend…edging ever closer to the holiday season…a reminder about one of the more common criminal justice pitfalls which people tend to experience. Namely, drunk driving.

Many cases around the subject of Operating Under the Influence have hit the press this past week. Today’s daily blog looks at three of them, all three differing in their stage of the prosecution.

First, let’s look to Yarmouth, Massachusetts, the scene of an interesting arrest scene, particularly if you are a dog lover, Tuesday. Axel, the police department K-9 dog, was called upon to help locate an alleged drunk driver at the Foxwoods Condominiums in West Yarmouth .

Bryan C., 41, of Barnstable, (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) is said to have crashed his 2001 Monte Carlo deep into the woods off Camp Street around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Police say he then fled the scene.

Strikes one and two.

When officers arrived they found the severely damaged car, but no driver. Police were told by a witness that the lone male driver had crawled out of the vehicle, grabbed an item and ran off.

Police brought in K-9 patrol officer Peter McClelland and his partner Axel to track the suspect. They initially found an opened and cold 12 pack of beer – with four remaining cans – on the side of the road about 200 yards from the crash scene. The track continued and led to the front door of a unit at the condominium complex.

Once found, Defendant 1 told officers he was “having a bad night” and admitted to driving the vehicle.

Strike three. Out.
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November 6, 2008

Breaking And Entering And Maybe Drugs Lead To Murder Charges Plus One In Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

This one isn’t so funny. It involves the type of tragedy that happens all the time, particularly in urban areas. Of course, this one has a couple of twists.

This wasn’t the big city…it was Winchester, Massachusetts. In a peaceful dead-end street lined with single and multifamily houses where residents have lived for generations. Chris and Bryan Barbaro were two brothers living on the same street where they were raised. The same street where their parents and sister still live.

Now, they are both dead.

In October, 2007, Wally S., 30 (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) allegedly kicked in the door and forced his way into the Barbaros’ three-family home and shot 48-year-old Bryan Barbaro in the chest, a wound he survived after being rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital. Brother Chris was shot in the forehead and died at that time.

Despite being wounded, Bryan Barbaro was able to call 911 and report that both he and his brother had been shot, officials said.

Although Assistant District Attorney Nathaniel Yeager told the court that 50-year-old Chris Barbaro was killed by the gunshot to the forehead, the Defendant was not immediately charged with the murder.
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October 15, 2008

Caylee Anthony’s Mother is Indicted for Her Murder

by Altman & Altman

The mother of Caylee Anthony, the 3-year-old girl who has been missing since June, has been indicted for her daughter’s murder. Casey Anthony was arrested on Tuesday after police officers saw her switch cars on a highway. An Anthony family spokesperson says that Casey was about to turn herself in to police. The arrest happened before she was able to surrender.

A grand jury has indicted the 22-year-old on charges of capital murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse, and four counts of providing false information to police. The first-degree murder charge could lead to the death penalty or life in prison if Casey is convicted. She is expected to enter a plea to the indictment within the next 30 days. Prosecutors want Casey to be held without bond.

Casey waited a month after Caylee went missing before telling anyone about the disappearance. Investigators say that while Caylee’s body has not been found, the growing evidence continues to indicate that the toddler is dead.

According to information provided by police, Casey went to nightclubs, regularly text-messaged with friends, and entered “hot-body” contests after her daughter disappeared. She also reportedly gave conflicting statements and false information to police.

Among the evidence cites by police:

• Traces of chloroform and evidence of human decomposition were found in a car linked to Casey.
• Casey reportedly asked a neighbor if she could borrow a shovel.
• Search files on Casey’s computer indicate that she had looked up Web sites about chloroform and missing children.

Casey has always maintained her innocence.

Caylee’s mom named in murder indictment, CNN.com, October 15, 2008
Casey Anthony arrested on busy Orlando-area highway after switching cars, Orlando Sentinel, October 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Caylee Anthony Timeline, MyFoxOrlando.com Continue reading

July 9, 2008

New DNA Evidence Clears JonBenet Ramsey’s Family of Her Murder

by Altman & Altman

Nearly 12 years after the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, her family has finally been cleared of any involvement in her death. The body of the six-year-old beauty queen was found in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996 and for years, her father John, her mother Patsy (now deceased), and her brother Burke were considered among the leading possible suspects in her slaying. They were never, however, formally declared suspects.

JonBenet’s family has always maintained their innocence, but the media reports alluding to their possible involvement damaged their reputations. Today, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office released a letter officially clearing John, Patsy, Burke, and all immediate relatives of having any part in her murder. DA Mary Lacy formally apologized for being unable to clear their names before, and, moving forward, her office promised to treat the family as victims in the JonBenet murder. The announcement came after a new testing method using “touch samples” proved that none of the Ramsey family members’ DNA is a match for the new evidence discovered in her case.

Tests in March indicate that a pair of long johns found on JonBenet’s body contained DNA belonging to an “unknown male” that matched a DNA sample taken from JonBenet’s underwear. Tests were also conducted to make sure that the DNA did not come from medical examiner or law enforcement employees. This latest DNA was also used to exonerate John Mark Karr, who in 2006 confessed to killing JonBenet, of her murder.

In a televised interview, John Ramsey expressed gratitude at the formal acknowledgement that he, Patsy, and Burke did not play any part in JonBenet’s murder. He also expressed his continued wish that the real killer be found.

Family cleared in JonBenet Ramsey’s death, MSNBC.com, July 9, 2008
DNA clears JonBenet’s family, points to mystery killer, CNN.com, July 9, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Read the DA’s Letter to John Ramsey

JonBenet Timeline, CBS News.com Continue reading

March 25, 2008

Former SLA Member Sarah Jane Olson To Fight Decision Sending Her Back to Prison

by Altman & Altman

Five days after her release from prison, former Symbionese Liberation Army member Sarah Jane Olson was rearrested and sent back to prison on Saturday to serve one more year of her sentence. Prison department staff had concluded that a mistake had been made in figuring out when the ex-SLA member was eligible for parole.

Her criminal defense lawyer plans to fight this decision and cites pressure from the Los Angeles police officers’ union, rather than a calculation error, as the reason Olson is back behind bars.

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the police union reject this accusation.

Olson’s real name is Kathleen Soliah. She was paroled on Monday after serving six years of the sentence that she received for pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of Myrna Opsahl while robbing a bank in Carmichael, California in the 1970’s. She also had entered a guilty plea for trying to bomb LAPD cars. She had planted pipe bombs under the car but the devices didn’t go off.

Olson lived as a fugitive for 24 years. She changed her name, got married, and had three children before she was arrested.

A California judge had initially sentenced Olson to five years and four months in prison because of 1975 sentencing laws. The state parole board, however, determined that she was a serious offender and changed her prison sentence to 13 years.

Olson was supposed to serve her parole in Minnesota with her family but was not permitted to board her flight from Los Angeles International Airport. After the error was identified, she was sent back to Chowchilla women’s prison.

According to prison officials, they forgot to add more time for the bank robbery and Carmichael’s murder, which now makes her eligible for parole after seven years instead of six.

SLA’s Olson will fight return to state prison, SFGate.com, March 24, 2008
Ex-SLA member rearrested after release, MercuryNews.com, March 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

The Symbionese Liberation Army, CourtTV.com
Sara Jane Olson on Life in Prison, Talkleft.com Continue reading

March 19, 2008

Massachusetts Man Says He Was Duped into Pleading Guilty to Murder

by Altman & Altman

Charles F. Bogues, a Dorchester man, who pled guilty to the 1993 murder of a 15-year-old teenager, is asking a Massachusetts appeals court to set aside his conviction. Bogues’s father, Boston police Officer Charles T. Bogues, says his son would like another chance to go to trial.

Bogues, 38, says he only pled guilty because prosecutors and his criminal defense attorney had convinced him that the stray bullet that struck the boy came from Bogues’s gun. Bogues has so far served 11 years in prison for the murder of Louis D. Brown during a Dorchester shoot-out. Brown had been going to a Teens Against Gang Violence Christmas party when he was killed by a bullet in the head.

Brown pled guilty to second-degree murder. He is eligible for parole in 15 years. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped an indictment for cocaine trafficking and weapons possession that came with a minimum mandatory 15 years in prison.

After pleading guilty, Bogues found out that witnesses had identified another person as the shooter. Ballistic evidence also revealed that someone else had been firing a .45-caliber gun at the time of the shooting.

Bogues’s current criminal defense team says that his old lawyer never examined this evidence before convincing the Dorchester man to make the plea agreement. Bogues has already lost one appeal. The three-judge appeals court panel is not sure about whether it can examine Bogues’s appeal because he had waived his right to look at all of the evidence when he agreed to a plea agreement instead of going to trial.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Paul B. Linn says that Bogues is guilty and that only he could have fired the deadly shot. Linn says that Bogues’s involvement in the shootout makes him responsible for Brown’s slaying even if there is was a question about who fired the gun with the fatal bullet.

Bogues says that he fired his gun because he and his friends had been shot at on Tonawanda Street by an unknown shooter. He says that he doesn’t think that his return fire could have killed Brown because the teenager was on Geneva Avenue. Prosecutors say that the bullet ricocheted.

Tina Chery, Brown’s mother, says she is now not sure if Bogues is guilty and wonders why others involved in the shooting weren’t arrested.

Man says he was tricked into plea, Boston Globe, March 19, 2008
Inmate wants guilty plea tossed in ’93 homicide, Boston.com, October 29, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Teens Against Gang Violence

Plea Agreements, Justia Continue reading

March 8, 2008

Civil Rights Trial of Man Wrongfully Convicted of Murder Gets Under Way in Boston, Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

In Boston, Massachusetts, the civil rights trial of Shawn Drumgold, the man wrongfully convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl, is under way. Drumgold, now 42, served 15 years in prison for the 1988 murder of Darlene Tiffany Moore who got caught in the middle of a gang fight in a Roxbury neighborhood.

Drumgold was released from prison in 2003 after prosecutors took another look at the case and realized that he did not get a fair trial. Witnesses had told the Boston Globe that they were bullied into testifying against Drumgold. One witness in his murder trial had even been suffering from a rare form of brain cancer that can impair his memory and perception. This fact was never revealed to the defense.

Drumgold filed a lawsuit against the city of Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. He also named two police detectives Detective Walsh and Detective Callahan, both now retired, that had investigated his murder case.

On Wednesday, Ricky Evans testified that he lied when he was a witness during Drumgold’s murder trial. He says Detective Callahan showed him several photos of suspects and refused to accept his response when he picked another man’s photo.

Evans said he didn’t have a permanent residence during the time of the shooting. Boston police paid for his food and lodging at a local Howard Johnson for eight months. He says that Detective Callahan told him several outstanding warrants against him would be ‘wiped out.”

Evans admits that he never saw Drumgold during the night of the shooting and that the testimony he provided was based on information that Callahan and another detective had given him. He says recanted his testimony because he felt guilty about lying.

Drumgold claims that Callahan and Walsh withheld key evidence that could have cleared his name and also manipulated key witnesses.

Witness in Drumgold case says he made up testimony, Boston.com, March 5, 2008
Jury hears opening statements in Drumgold case, Boston Herald, March 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Drumgold sues over wrongful conviction, Boston.com, June 4, 2004
Drumgold Says He Has No Anger, TruthInJustice.org, November 10, 2003 Continue reading