OUI/Drunk Driving

November 26, 2008

North And South Of Boston, Sex Trade Stings Are In Full Swing

As we near Thanksgiving, we look around for reasons to be thankful. True, economic times are tough and getting tougher. However, it would appear that all the violent crimes and drug dealing in Lynn, Massachusetts, has been stopped. No more guns rape, robbery or murder. It would appear that even the drunk driving problem is under control.

Now, the police have the time and resources to concentrate on other vicious crimes plaguing our society.

Prostitution, for example.

This past Saturday, a well timed police prostitution sting was said to be different than others done in the recent past. According to the Lynn Item, it was conducted in “broad daylight”.

No pun intended, I’m sure.

“For the city of Lynn, unfortunately, it’s a 24/7 problem,” said Sgt. Rick Carrow of the world’s oldest profession. He is the head of the department’s Special Investigation Unit that conducted the operation between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday, netting nine arrests of would-be customers.

“There’s a market out there and we’re going to do what we have to do,” he said. And so they did.

Twenty-four-year-old Officer Kelly Aylward was the undercover decoy during the operation conducted in the downtown area, according to Carrow. The targets of this brilliantly conceived plan was to have an attractive female see if she could get men to want to have sex with her and be willing to pay for it.
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November 21, 2008

Boston Intoxicated Driver Said To Speed Through Massachusetts Town

by Altman & Altman

Sean G., 20, of Roslindale (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was out for a drive early Wednesday morning. Normally, that might not pose so much of a problem. However, this time was different.

You see, according to the police, the Defendant was drunk. Upon further investigation, he was apparently not even supposed to be driving the car in the first place.

However, the Defendant’s real problems began when the police took notice of the gray sedan in Holliston, Massachusetts.

According to Police Sgt. George Leurini, the Defendant was seen driving the sedan on Route 126 traveling over the posted speed limit. The Speed limit was 25 miles per hour – the Defendant was going 39 mph. Sgt. Leuini turned on his siren.

Apparently, this confused the Defendant as he neither stopped nor slowed down; he sped up. Now, instead of the 39 mph, he accelerated to 70 mph.

The police car gave chase.

Perhaps quizzical as to why 70 mph was not enough to satisfy the police, the Defendant kept accelerating until it became a high speed chase at speeds of 100 mph.
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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 7, 2008

South And North Of Boston Tales Of Drunk Driving And Providing Alcohol To Minors Come Home To Roost

by Altman & Altman

Massachusetts just voted to change the way we handle the prosecution of possessing a small amount of marihuana. Meanwhile, alcohol still seems to be getting its share of publicity as well.

Two recent stories bring the subject of alcohol home.

No, literally….home.

For example, at approximately 4:30 a.m. this past Saturday morning, Park Street in Stoughton was the scene of a lot of excitement; a car crashed into one of its houses, causing a fire that is now said to have made the house structurally unsafe.

Donald M., 22 (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) is said to have driven into the uninhabited home, police said, and charged with operating under the influence of liquor, operating a motor vehicle negligently so as to endanger and marked lanes violation.

Fortunately, the home had already been uninhabited.

“Why?”, you ask.

“Because a similar thing happened last year”, I answer. That’s right, the house had already sustained serious damage, including a gaping hole to its foundation, caused by a similar accident last year. Defendant 1’s accident simply added another gaping hole. And caused a fire. And pushed the safety of the structure over the edge of soundness.
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October 22, 2008

Cousin Reveals Massachusetts Drunk Driver Leaving Scene And Attempting Fraud

by Altman & Altman

We are now announcing a special “family plan” for the “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” club we have spoken so much of in this daily blog.

Lawrence, Massachusetts. July, 2008. A 1997 Honda Civic careens into a fence on Phillips Street. Eduard M., 19, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), the driver, takes the unorthodox approach – he tells his passengers to follow him and they flee the scene. He then reports the car stolen.

It’s a good start toward individual membership. After all, what’s a simple car accident when you can have charges of leaving the scene and fraud added with very little additional effort?

Clinching this nomination, however, is the Defendant’s cousin, Jose, who then went back to the scene to retrieve his hat.

You see, Jose is a friendly guy and ended up talking about the situation with a resident of the house where the accident had occurred. He told the resident how the Defendant had been drunk, but that his auto insurance would cover damage to the fence.

Lawrence police are a friendly bunch too and one of their officers ended up engaged in the conversation with cousin Jose. So, Jose elaborated on the story. He told the officer that his cousin, the Defendant, was drunk and had a suspended driver’s license, but still insisted on driving five other people home from a party on Kendall Street. Missing a turn at Dorchester and Phillips streets, the Defendant hit the fence instead.
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October 17, 2008

Drunk Driver, Fifth Offense, Says Prostitute Caused The Accident

by Altman & Altman

You know, I think prostitutes are getting a bad rap this week. Yesterday’s daily blog covered a young lady with a record for prostitution being arrest under…curious…circumstances. Today, we examine a case where a prostitute is blamed for something once again…and not for her chosen profession. It is unlikely to end the same way, though.

57-year old Leonard R. (hereinafter, the”Defendant”) had a little problem this past Sunday, apparently when he was returning home in Pittsfield. Well, he did not exactly drive to his home…he drove into his home. His speed is not indicated, but his Toyota Tundra is said to have destroyed a garage door and caused structural damage to the brick building.

According to Central Berkshire District Court records, he was driving with a revoked license. His license had been revoked because of previous drunk driving convictions.

Oh yes, he is also alleged to have been drunk at the time of the collision with his apartment building.

Well, he was now home, after all, so he left the nasty seen and went to his apartment. According to Pittsfield police, he was found “hiding in his bedroom closet”.
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October 10, 2008

Massachusetts Driver On Probation Faces Third Round Of Charges For Operating Under The Influence

by Altman & Altman

David K., 38, of Hamilton, Massachusetts (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is getting points for consistency – negative points. He has just been arrested for his third alleged occasion of driving under the influence. In fact, he also faces bonus points for violating probation because of the arrest. Currently, he is awaiting his final score as a guest of the Commonwealth.

The Defendant came to the attention of police when he was driving just after 2:00 a.m. on Bridge Street in Beverly. Unfortunately, the headlights on his pickup truck were not on. He was pulled over and, during questioning, the officer says he smelled alcohol and noticed that the driver seemed uncoordinated as he fumbled for the registration. When asked if he had been drinking, the Defendant showed the officer a prescription bottle of Trazadone, a painkiller he said he was taking because of surgery to his Achilles tendon two years ago. According to the police report, he also told the officer that he had taken two pills – twice the suggested dosage.

Digesting all of this, the officer checked the Defendant’s information and learned that the Defendant was not even supposed to be behind the wheel in the first place. In addition to a one-year license suspension because of two similar cases last year, his license had been revoked in December for four years by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, which deemed him a habitual offender for some reason.

October 6, 2008

Boston Driver Creates New Lane And Chaos On Route 93, Adding Multiple Charges To Operating Under the Influence

by Altman & Altman

It would seem that some people are never satisfied. Now that “The Big Dig” is completed, one particular driver was unhappy with the lanes created by the extensive project. Her solution was apparently to create a “speedy-reverse lane”.

Siobhan H, 21 years of age and Norwood of residence (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was in court this past Friday facing various charges for her ingenuity. She had come to the attention of police when calls were received of a driver traveling on the wrong side of the highway at the Hanover exit on Route 3. She continued in her special lane, traveling almost 20 miles in the wrong direction on I-93 Southbound all the way to Dorchester in her 1998 Chevrolet Malibu. She drove at speeds over 100 miles per hour, according to the authorities.

When the police tried to stop her, she did what one would expect she would do; she tried to out-drive them. During the chase, the Defendant slammed into one car and jersey barriers. Finally, the police blew out her tires through use of “stop sticks”.

September 3, 2008

Massachusetts State Police Recover Drug Stash After Car Chase And Violent Arrest

by Altman & Altman

Last Thursday night, two gentlemen in Taunton learned that sometimes it is better to quietly accept a motor vehicle citation than to protest, flee and fight, thereby adding a few felony charges to the experience.

Enterprise News reports that just before 5 p.m. two state troopers spotted an early-model Infiniti G20 with a defective brake light and a sticker indicating that it had failed an inspection on Route 44. They activated their flashing lights and the driver, Brian Lacombe, 20, pulled into the parking lot of KFC restaurant on Route 44 and stopped. However, as the officers left their cruisers to approach on foot, Lacombe apparently had a change of heart and allegedly sped away heading east on Route 44.

And so the chase began.

September 2, 2008

Massachusetts Drunk Driver Charged With North Shore Pedicab Accident And Leaving The Scene

by Altman & Altman

The pre-Labor Day Weekend push of commercials warning against operating under the influence did not prevent the collision between an automobile and a pedicab just before the weekend, according to a story published by the Salem News.

According to the article, a 20 year old female struck the pedicab just after midnight on Washington Street in downtown Salem. According to the police, she stopped “for a brief moment” and then drove around the tipped-over pedicab and then left the scene. The pedicab’s driver, Anthony Taurasi III, reportedly chased the motor vehicle up the road before collapsing on the ground. Mr. Taurasi and one of his passengers were then brought to the hospital. During his brief chase, however, he was able to view a partial license plate.

Given the license plate number, police said they found Rose Barry of Beverly driving on Highland Avenue with her hazard lights on. However, when the police turned on their blue lights and sirens, she refused to stop “made an abrupt right turn into the rear of 84 Highland Ave. and then attempted to go between a space in the guardrail.”