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In Lynn District Court, Fernando Aristy, a 24-year-old Chelsea man, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of Massachusetts murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault to murder. Aristy is accused of injuring 34-year-old Peabody resident Chad McDonald so severely during a fight earlier this month that the latter never recovered.

However, according to Aristy’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer, the Chelsea man had been acting in self-defense. Witnesses have reported at one point during the dispute seeing McDonald pull out a screwdriver that they mistook as a knife. They also say that he started the fight.

Aristy and McDonald had reportedly argued a week before the deadly brawl about a parking disagreement. During the fight, Aristy allegedly struck McDonald with a 2-by-4 piece of wood and then later fled the scene.

According to The Salem News, following the fight McDonald seemed unaware that he had sustained severe head injuries. He returned to the business where he worked and was living temporarily. A friend came to check on him after he failed to show up for a yard sale and that was when he was transported to the hospital.

Aristy turned himself over to Lynn police earlier this week.

Man held in death of a local father, 34, Salem News, October 27, 2010
Lynn man pleads not guilty to murder charge after fight, Boston.com, October 27, 2010

Related Web Resource:
General Laws of Massachusetts – Chapter 265 Crimes Against the Person, Onecle Continue reading

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The news has gotten even worse. Hours after law enforcement announced that a second person shot during this weekend’s shootings had died, there was yet another fatal shooting in Boston.

This shooting victim was a 30-year-old man who was shot on Geneva Avenue in Dorchester at approximately 8 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center.

Police are investigating a possible gang or drug connection and looking for a black Cadillac Escalade seen leaving the scene shortly after the shooting. Ruiz did not name or describe any possible suspects, saying that the driver of the Cadillac was only wanted for questioning.

And so, with bodies piling up, law enforcement continues its investigation(s). There are a number of leads. Some will turn out helpful and lead to the factually guilty. Others will inevitably not be so helpful (in terms of Justice) and lead to the innocent.

Perhaps they will lead to you or somebody you care about.
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How many of you thought that the Boston police and probation officers were over-reacting when you read my blog last week about their “late night calls” on probationers? As you may recall, it was in response to the rise of the homicide rate. Well, it would appear that these late night visits have not made that big a difference quite yet.

We have had another one of those “record weekends” in terms of shooting deaths this past weekend. Police are still investigating the shootings in the three Boston neighborhoods to find those responsible.

Yes, that means high profile arrests. Yes, that means you had better be careful, lest the finger of accusation make its way to your door.

Speaking about the shootings, these left one woman dead and five men wounded, Commissioner Edwin F. Davis has said that there are some “promising leads” already. He further added that, “It was a very unusual day to have that many incidents occur, We have noted spikes in this kind of activity before, and unfortunately, we’re experiencing one again this weekend.”

Yes, accent on the word “again”…not so much on the word “unusual”. This is not even the first time we have had such a weekend this year.
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With jury members now selected, opening statements are scheduled to begin in the Chandry Levy murder trial on Monday. The 24-year-old woman was murdered in 2001 after she was attacked while jogging in a park. Her body was found over a year later.

At the time of her disappearance, Levy was the end of her federal internship at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The focus of the police investigation was originally directed at Gary A. Condit, a former congressman who had been her married lover. Condit was never charged.

The man who is on trial for Levy’s murder is Ingmar Guandique, a member of the Salvadorean gang Mara Salvatrucha. Guandique was sentenced in 2002 for attacking two other women at the same park where he allegedly attacked Levy. Officials claim that while Guandique was serving time for those crimes he told other inmates that he had murdered the intern.

According to The Washington Post, prosecutors are largely basing their murder case on this alleged confession. His former inmates say that Guandique told them told he raped and killed Levy. Authorities say that Guandique had a magazine photo of Levy in his jail cell. Prosecutors may also try to prove that his prior assaults and the Levy killing exhibit a pattern of behavior.

Meantime, Guandique maintains that he is innocent of Levy’s murder. In 2002, Guandique did not fail a polygraph test when he was questioned about whether he had any information about Levy’s disappearance. After the polygraph, the lead prosecutor on Guandique’s assault case told a judge that there was “no suggestion” that Guandique played a role in the Levy killing. Also, Guandique’s defense team have questioned the police investigation, including a memo that cleared Guandique and another man of any match in fingerprints found on a vehicle that was parked close to the crime scene.

There are no eyewitnesses or evidence linking Guandique to the murder.

Police errors expected to figure prominently in Levy trial, The Washington Post, October 24, 2010
Trial may start Monday in Chandra Levy murder case, CNN, October 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chandra Levy mystery: A timeline, USA Today, May 22, 2002
General Laws, Malegislature.gov Continue reading

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You may have noticed that many Massachusetts crimes are ones in which the defendant had to have had the pre-requisite intent to commit the crime. The element of intent is not, however, necessary for all criminal acts.

For example, let’s say that I had a really bad day today and so, it being Friday and all, I decided to go down to my favorite watering hole and down an alcoholic beverage or five of my choosing. I then made the colossal mistake of trying to drive home. There is an accident and I hit another vehicle and kill them. This is what is known as vehicular homicide.

True, I did have a few drinks, but I certainly did not mean to hurt, much less kill, anybody. Further, I was certainly not in my right mind when I got behind the wheel. I was drunk.

So…what can I be guilty of…just drinking?

Of course not. The law presumes that we intend the natural result of our actions. It also holds that we accept a certain amount of risk under certain circumstances. When I went out to drink, I knew I would, or may, get drunk. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to an act you commit simply because you were drunk. Therefore, I am guilty of drunk driving. By the same logic, I am also guilty of vehicular homicide.
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As the Chuck Turner trial churns on, other white collar crimes are being investigated in the Commonwealth of Mass. The potential defendants include folks from all backgrounds…even the mentally impaired.

Let’s turn to the town of Lowell. On Tuesday, staff at a local bank suddenly became suspicious when they came upon a rather unusual bill.

What was strange was the amount of the bill. It was a $10,000 bill.

Unless the bearer of the bill (hereinafter, the “Bearer”) had been saving the bill for a very long time, it was clear that the bill was false. You see, it would appear that such bills were released in a very limited amount back in the 1930’s.

The bills are no longer in circulation.
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Sometimes, criminal justice reality in the Boston area reveals itself, as if on cue, to demonstrate points made by this daily blog. Since Friday, I have been referring to the inequality between the resources of the prosecution and the defense. Another example has presented itself during the ongoing Chuck Turner federal trial for alleged white collar crimes.

As you know, Mr. Turner is on trial in a corruption matter which was related to that of Diane Wilkerson. Thankfully for the United States Attorney’s office, Ms. Wilkerson pleaded guilty. Mr. Turner, however, has insisted the prosecution prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

As I have pointed out in the past, the federal prosecutors rarely go to trial on a matter unless they have a strong chance of winning.

This one, however, may not go so well.

You see, their chief witness, Ronald Wilburn, has indicated that he now refuses to testify for the prosecution. Last week, there was a session in which he was questioned by the judge, but the results have not been revealed. When WBZ interviewed me last week, I explained that the potential loss of said witness would not necessarily derail the prosecution so long as they had someone else to authenticate the video tape of the alleged crime.
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Dana Kessel, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges of Massachusetts child endangerment, third-offense drunken driving, and driving to endanger. The charges are related to a car crash that left his 2-year-old son with serious injuries. Kessel was arraigned in Salem District Court.

The Beverly resident crashed his minivan into a utility pole on Saturday. His son, who was with him at the time and not wearing a child safety restraint, flew into the dashboard. The little boy suffered internal bleeding and sustained a head wound.

According to police, Kessel, who failed several field sobriety tests and couldn’t remember his son’s name or age, was arrested. His blood alcohol content, which was tested at the police station, was over twice the legal limit.

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It is late on a fall Boston night. As your eyeballs begin their dance of slumber, a loud banging on the door shatters the peaceful quiet and wakes you up with a jolt. The baby is crying and the elderly peek out their doorway in fear.

Who can it be? A violent group of thugs? Are you dreaming you are in another country where tyranny rules?

No…it’s just the police and your friendly neighborhood probation officer.

You know… our domestic peace keepers.

Violent crimes such as homicide and shootings are up in number this year. This has given law enforcement officials a new sense of urgency to respond aggressively and visibly.
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The attorneys in the Chuck Turner corruption case are expected to make opening statements today, Already, however, issues have arisen which cast doubt on Mr. Turner’s ability to have a fair trial. In other words, from the defense’ view, should there be a conviction, appeal issues have already begun to present themselves..

Last week, we discussed the government’s witness who no longer wishes to be a witness in the white collar criminal case
As the week went on, jury selection began.

As you know, the purpose of jury selection is to pose various questions to prospective jurors to weed out those who cannot be fair and impartial to both the defendant and the government. One of the areas in which the court inquires is whether or not the prospective jurors already have heard anything about the case prior to the trial. This is because the jury is supposed to limit their consideration of the facts to the evidence as presented at trial.

As you also know, every fact that exists about a matter, or that was reported in the press, is not necessarily admissible at trial.

Well, it would appear that many of the prospective jurors in the Turner case already knew something of this case prior to coming to federal court to potentially sit on it. Some knew the basic outline of the federal corruption case, others barely anything at all.

But one thing was engraved on the minds of many: the explosive photographs of former state senator Dianne Wilkerson and Turner allegedly taking bribes in 2007 and 2008
In particular, several prospective jurors mentioned a widely disseminated picture of Wilkerson stuffing 10 $100 bills into her bra at No. 9 Park, a posh restaurant near the State House.

Game over for said potential jurors? Not quite.
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