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A Roslindale man has allegedly learned a criminal justice lesson on the topic of hit-and-run accidents. Namely, you can hit. You can run. But you cannot hide.

Colin Ratiu, 23 (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is the=is unfortunate driver according to the Commonwealth . He was arraigned in court yesterday after pleading “not guilty” to charges of leaving the scene of an accident after causing death, and motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation.

The accident happened in November. The Defendant was using someone else’s car and is said to have explained the damage on the vehicle by saying that when he had swerved to avoid a skunk, he ended up hitting…”something”.

In fact, what the car actually struck was a 24-year-old Northeastern University graduate driving home in a scooter. The scooter was thrown about 150 feet. The graduate was killed.

“He then proceeded to drive away without stopping,” the prosecutor told the judge yesterday.

Homicide detectives began the investigation immediately, but it was not until 89 days after the accident that an anonymous tip led them to the car that had allegedly been driven by the Defendant that fateful night. The damage on the vehicle was consistent with what they were looking for. Upon questioning, the vehicle’s owner told the detectives about the Defendant and his skunk story.
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Sting operations in Massachusetts are not uncommon. They are employed by law enforcement to investigate various types of crimes from drug dealing to prostitution.

Oh yes. And guns.

Robert C. Kenney, 56, Christopher P. Littlejohn, 30, and Ramone Arakelow, 34, all from Beverly, (collectively, the “Defendants”) have now learned this lesson. They were arrested last week in such an operation. They allegedly thought they were planning a home invasion in Malden with “legitimate” co-conspirators.

The victim-to-be was a drug dealer.

The victim-to-be was not a legal citizen.

The victim- to be…did not exist.

The would-be victim was simply part of a fictitious scenario created by authorities who had been investigating the Defendants. What the various law enforcement agencies (FBI, State Police and various local police departments) were really after was weapons. One of the Defendants is suspected of selling seven illegal firearms in the Boston and North Shore areas, State Police said. The other two are suspected associates.
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Mike Hennebury, a 37-year-old man from Hanover (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is in trouble as this week comes to a close.

According to the police, the Defendant was on his merry way Tuesday night, driving drunk, when he ran off the road. Say what you will about the Defendant, he is apparently consistent. He has had three prior drunk driving cases in the past.

When the Defendant left the comfort of pavement, he ended up in the front yard of a home in an otherwise peaceful Duxbury neighborhood. There, his car came to a rest and was apparently having difficulty moving. Yes, it was stuck in the snow.

The good news is that a nice 72-year-old woman came out of her home, concerned that he needed help.

The bad news is that he apparently did not want any help. He really did not want any help!
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How do former Massachusetts prosecutorial politicians and general politicians admit that they were wrong? Well, they don’t. They simply, and quietly, try to seek a “do over”, as young kids would say.

And so it was that former South Hadley prosecutor, Elizabeth Scheibel (hereinafter, “EXDA”), joined with others yesterday to address the fact that her and other heroic (and speedy) legislators’ measures regarding bullying do not seem to be working very well.

You remember EXDA, don’t you? In response to the public outcry of Phoebe Prince’s suicide, she is the political prosecutor (“PP”) who made headlines, instead of sense, when she indicted a bunch of kids for, when it comes down to it, bullying. Rather than doing further investigation (which the media did later for her), it was more palatable for her to ruin the lives of the other kids involved.

The transparently political move, while gaining accolades at first, soured in the light of day and she thereafter retired. However, the damage had been done. Part of that damage was to “up the ante” with her fellow politicians regarding bullying. So, in true political fashion, they pushed through what they called “the toughest anti-bullying law in the country” Unfortunately, the awesome law did little save give a false sense of security to the general public and confuse those who had to actually read the thing.

Oh. And it also gave us “No Name Calling Day”.
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The Boston Housing Authority has had to close a nine-unit building for repairs, displacing nine families after three men allegedly set fire to a unit at the Bunker Hill housing development this week. The police say that the intended victims escaped through a window. Boston firefighters extinguished the two-alarm fire, but also had to rescue second-floor residents who were trapped by heavy smoke and fire.

Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported. According to the BHA, the families have been at hotels while the new apartments for them are sought. In the meantime, the families are being aided by the Red Cross.

James Burrell and Dashaun Lanair James, both 32 and of Charlestown, and Daniel Grayson, 28, of Roxbury, (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendants”) have been charged with the blaze and have pleaded not guilty to arson of a dwelling and other related charges.

Bail was set at $150,000 for Burrell, $85,000 for James, and $50,000 for Grayson.

The Commonwealth believes that the arson was committed in connection with a drug debt. According to police, Burrell had been arguing with a man over said drug debt. Then, police say, the Defendants were standing in a hallway of the building shortly after midnight when a flammable liquid was poured under a unit’s door. Burrell is said to have ignited the liquid and then the Defendants all allegedly ran into a neighboring apartment building on Decatur Street.
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Massachusetts bullying is not simply old news these days. As predicted, many people have made the mistake of assuming that the rushed so-called “anti-bullying” statute would solve the problem. They figured that the schools, following the clear guidance our elected officials presented would take care of it.

It didn’t. Maybe because the “guidance” presented was anything but clear.

To date, more than a third of Massachusetts school districts have failed to present complete antibullying plans by the end of 2010. This deadline was one of the few clear and presumed urgent things presented by the law, but why quibble? These figures, by the way, were by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

On the other hand, some school districts have complied….sort of. In 13 percent of those plans, at least a quarter of the elements required by the law were not clearly addressed.

If I may add a little note here…since the legislative “cure all”, I have actually seen a growth of calls regarding severe bullying problems about which the schools seem to have turned a blind eye…no matter what evidence was placed before said eye. An example of how bad the problem is can be illustrated by the simplest of requirements of the new law, namely, contacting parents of the kids involved. Even this seemingly simple exercise seems to be too much for the schools to handle.
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A Dorchester college student is currently being held without bail after being arraigned at Dedham District Court. According to law enforcement, the lad, Darryl Max Dookhran, 18, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was carrying a semi-automatic firearm in his backpack at Massachusetts Bay Community College in
According to the Wellesley police, detectives acted on a tip that the Defendant had the gun. They say that they then approached the Defendant as he was standing in line at the registrar’s office. They then walked him into a nearby room. The Commonwealth says that the Defendant, upon this confrontation, backed against a wall and then kicked at detectives when they attempted to pat him down.

What followed, according to the Commonwealth is described as a “furious struggle with police”

Detectives say they found a Tec-9 gun in his backpack, with a loaded 18-round magazine.

He apparently says that it is not his gun and he has no idea how it got into his backpack.
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Boston police got a 2-for-1 bargain earlier this week in the area of drunk driving.

They stopped an automobile near Columbia Road and Holden Street in Roxbury. It was initially stopped, according to law enforcement, because it had not stopped at a red light.

As part of normal practice, the driver was asked to produce his license and registration
Guess what?

Whoops! The driver’s license had been revoked. Whoops again…the driver had an outstanding warrant for his arrest due to a pending drunk driving charge.

So, the driver was about to become a guest of the Commonwealth. He asked the officers if his passenger could drive the vehicle home so that it would not have to be impounded.

Whoops a third time!

Upon checking the passenger out, it was discovered that she, too, had a drunk driving warrant out for her arrest.
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An unnamed gentleman was apparently going about his business in Dorchester Monday. Said business is known as “home invasion“.

The break-in was on Beaumont Street and took place on Monday morning while the occupants were out. One was at work and the other…coincidentally enough…was on jury duty
The burglar took an awful lot of stuff, including all the electronics that he could find. This would include a laptop computer, television set and Nintendo Wii game system as well as other goods. The rooms were found, according to police, . “in disarray, draws (sic) opened, closets opened, items ransacked.”

However, the mystery thief apparently left a gift behind.

His blackberry cell phone. It was found on the bathroom floor. Near the broken window.
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Two years ago, a group of men capped off a friend’s funeral by allegedly committing murder. These gentlemen were in South Boston and are now hereinafter referred to, collectively, as the “Defendants”.

It was August, 2009, and the Defendants, dressed in their red tuxedos had apparently decided to go “clubbing” to drown their sorrows after the funeral. According to the Commonwealth, they had a verbal disagreement with 22-year-old Jose “Danny Alicea and two of his friends outside Club 33 on Stanhope Street.

These exchanged words were then capped by one of the Defendants’ allegedly throwing a bottle at their sparring partners. Yes, as in assault with a dangerous weapon (to wit: a bottle).

A melee erupted between the two groups.

Police arrived to find Mr. Alicea lying on the ground, bloody and unconscious. People were trying to wake him.

They couldn’t. He was dead.
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