Articles Posted in Vehicular Crimes

You may have already heard about the legal trouble 18-year-old Eric Megna (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), of Middleborough is in.

He has now been arraigned in connection with a hit and run motor vehicle accident which took the life of 58-year-old Michael Dutra back in October.

The accident was enough to change the Defendant’s young life. The allegations which followed the accident make the situation far worse. He is accused of leaving the scene and fabricating explanations for the damage found in his SUV when it was being fixed.

There’s nothing like an extreme circumstance to help you make a point that, otherwise, otherwise seem a little complicated. In fact, I will bet that you did not need this Boston criminal lawyer to tell you that this particular gentleman did not act appropriately…or legally.

West Yarmouth’s 32-year-old Christopher Sprague (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) will be visiting with a judge today in Orleans District Court. He was arrested early this morning on a number of Massachusetts motor vehicle crimes stemming from his actions at a West Dennis Tedeschi’s convenience store.

According to law enforcement, the Defendant rammed his truck through the front of the store. Several 911 calls came in to report the matter at around 12:36 a.m. Witnesses reported that a dark-colored Dodge pickup truck drove through the front entryway of the store.

If you were on route 107 like this Boston criminal lawyer this morning, and found traffic flow making you wish you were actually riding in on a turtle, the problem may have been a tragedy.

Shortly before 5:00am this morning, a reported hit and run incident took place. Saugus Police are investigating the incident after a man’s body was found lying on on Route 107 shortly before 5 a.m. according to Wicked Local’s news partner WCVB.

The road was closed from Ballard Street to Route 60 for about two hours after as police investigated, and reopened around 8:30 a.m.

As you probably know, criminal cases often resolve before trial. This is usually by way of a plea bargain. Often, at least the first offer made by the prosecution is not to the defendant’s liking. I have had many client turned to me and asked, “What do they want from me? Haven’t I suffered enough?” Much more often than not, I am able to change the offer to one everyone can live with.

That being said, I am reminded of another criminal justice conundrum. Sometimes, one suffers a tragedy of unspeakable proportions. Sometimes the person involved in such a tragedy also faces criminal charges for the tragedy.

Such is the case of a Worcester woman, Christina Castro (hereinafter, “the Defendant”), who was behind the wheel of her vehicle when it had a horrible accident. After pleading not guilty to a number of charges including vehicular homicide, she was held on $50,000 bail. Those injured, or killed, where her children. Killed was her three-year-old son.

According to law enforcement, The Defendant may have been driving more than 70 miles per hour when she allegedly fled the scene of a minor accident. It was then that the accident apparently happened. To make the accident worse, the children were not properly restrained in the car according to the police.

The result of the accident was that The Defendant’s five-year-old son suffered critical injuries while the Defendant and her five-year-old boy, both thrown out of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries. The three-year-old was killed

Attorney Sam’s Take On Human Suffering, Tragedy And The Justice System

You can almost hear the mother’s plea right now. “What on earth do they want from me? I have lost one child and injured it to others! Have I not suffered enough?”

And you can hear the prosecution answer, “apparently not.”
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“Justice”, as we have discussed, does not always come swiftly. Today, a long-term investigation into a motor vehicle crime has come to court.

The accident which left two people fatally injured on U.S. Route 1 in Saugus took place six years ago. According to the Commonwealth in Salem Superior Court today, the accident was of the hit-and-run variety. When it was all over, Tina Tello and Christopher Zullo, struck by a vehicle as they tried to cross the highway late on the night of January 5, 2007, were dead.

Three people have now pleaded “not guilty” in the case.

Thirty-three-year-old Michael Tranchita Jr. has been charged with leaving the scene of the fatal accident, conspiracy and misleading investigators. His father, fifty-five-year-old Michael Tranchita Sr., and thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Cutting of Revere stand charged with conspiracy and misleading investigators. Ms. Cutting is also charged with being an accessory after the fact. The Tranchitas are from Winchester.

All three defendants were released on personal recognizance after today’s arraignment
Tello’s son, Michael Cowels, said outside court Monday he’s glad justice was “finally being done.”

Attorney Sam’s Take On Seemingly Sleeping Investigations

I have handled many criminal matters in which investigators, after an immediate, almost urgent, initial inquiry into my clients’ connection to an alleged crime seem to simply disappear.
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Two gents who are currently guests of the Commonwealth might be questioning the advice of Attorney Sam’s Take about not trying to escape when pulled over by law enforcement. Even when your vehicle is loaded with contraband.

I do stand by my advice, though.

The two gents were Blake Balway, 30, of Somerville and Dorchester’s Michael Scanlan, 44. According to law enforcement, their vehicle was stopped pursuant to a routine traffic stop..

Officer Christopher Cunningham says that he was patrolling the Washington Street area of Wellesley in his cruiser on Wednesday afternoon. Cunningham apparently noticed a blue pickup truck in front of him repeatedly hitting the brakes. The pickup truck then turned onto Grantland Road, allegedly without signaling first. Since the road is a dead end, the officer decided to wait for the truck to turn around.

The officer then stopped the truck. According to the officer, the driver volunteered telling him that he did not have a driver’s license in his possession. The passenger is said to have volunteered the same information about himself. Interestingly, the officer says that each of the gents claimed to have the other’s name.

Not that it mattered much…after a check, the officer determined that both of them had had their licenses suspended.
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…So what are your plans for this Thanksgiving? Going to hit the road? Maybe do a little celebrating?

Well, you might want to keep in mind that, despite the holiday, the Massachusetts General Laws remain in effect.

Some people seem to have forgotten.

Let’s look at the rules of the road and motor vehicle crimes.

Take the plight of 27-year-old Michael Thompson of Fall River for instance. Mr. Thompson was out for a drive last night. It did not go terribly well.

You see, according to authorities, Berkley police noticed him and believed him to be driving erratically and too fast. So they decided to pull him over.

He did not pull over.

And the chase was on. The high-speed police chase reached speeds of 90 miles per hour and went through seven towns including Taunton, Lakeville, Freetown, New Bedford and Dartmouth. It ended in Westport.
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Yesterday, Attorney Sam’s Take began witth the question of what is a criminal We discussed the case of an Ohio bus driver and passenger who had clearly had a bad day. Their actions made them each vulnerable to criminal prosecution.

Today’s tale hails from Brockton; it is worse.

Antwoin Moore, 27, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) made a couple of bad judgment calls on Friday. As a result, he is presently a guest of the Commonwealth.

You see, the Defendant was out driving (allegedly) Friday. That might not have been so bad but for the fact that his driving license had been suspended. Even that might not have been all that bad if not for his second bad judgement call. When the police tried to pull him over, he apparently decided to to try and out-race them.

Naturally, he lost the race. Unfortunately, another driver lost her life when her vehicle was struck by the Defendant during the chase. When the dust settled, the Defendant was in custody and Maryanne Kotsiopoulos, 49, of Brockton was brought to Brockton where she was pronounced dead.
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