Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

June 22, 2009

Murder Suspect Is Jailed Without Bail Pending Probation Surrender As Boston-Area Media Focuses On His Prior Criminal Record

Sunday’s Boston Herald, along with several other local newspapers, focused on a particular aspect of a recent Framingham murder case. In the Herald, the headline read, “Suspect in Framingham stabbing has long police record”. While said record is normally inadmissible in court (except under certain circumstance) it is, for now, a noteworthy part of the story as far as the public is concerned. It is yet another illustration of what the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has long been warning Massachusetts readers, particularly the young among us. Namely, the errors one makes in the past, even while a juvenile, can greatly affect our future in terms of criminal justice.

The man accused of the homicide in this case is 19-year-old Dan G. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). He is charged with Murder in the First Degree in connection with a fatal stabbing in Framingham which is said to have occurred on June 14th. While one would imagine the circumstances surrounding the attack would be the focal point of the public’s interest in the matter, said facts now seem to have taken a back seat to the Defendant’s criminal history. Yes, this would include his juvenile history which, of course, is usually considered “sealed” and inadmissible against him.

The Defendant is currently being held without bail. Part of the reason for this may well be his present circumstances. After all, Murder 1 is considered the most serious of crimes and, in fact, carries a sentence of Life without the possibility of parole in the Commonwealth. Further, the Defendant’s own statement, not surprisingly, does not help his situation. He is reported as saying that he does not remember stabbing the victim, but does recall standing over him holding a bloody knife.

The Defendant’s familiarity with knives, remembered by him or not, has now become of interest to the public. That familiarity, of course, is intimately entwined with his prior criminal record. For example, on April 7th, he is said to have used a knife to threaten a group of teenagers he claims were about to fight one of his friends. While you might see that as self-defense, or the defense of another, the Commonwealth did not see it that way. Law enforcement, no great fan of knife-waving “vigilante” protectors, arrested the Defendant and charged him with assault with a dangerous weapon.

It likely did not help that the friend the Defendant had been trying to protect went public with the notion that the Defendant was “intimidating”, which is why he had enlisted his aid in the first place.
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June 14, 2009

Former Massachusetts Bank of America Teller Charged with Bank Fraud and Identity Theft

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, Jeffrey Gautreaux, a former Bank of America teller, has been charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft, 17 counts of bank fraud, and one count of access device fraud. The charges are related to a fraud scam that allegedly occurred between July 2005 and June 2006.

The 25-year-old, who worked at a Bank of America branch in Peabody, is accused of getting bank customers’ personal information and account data and selling the stolen information to people that then made unauthorized withdrawals-ranging from $2,800 to $31,800-from the accounts. At least $270,000 was taken out of these accounts without the bank customers’ authorization.

If convicted, Gautreaux could be ordered to pay a $1 million fine for each bank fraud count and serve up to 30 years in prison, in addition to supervised release for five years. A conviction for access device fraud could lead to a 10-year prison sentence, a $250,000 fine, and probationary release. A conviction for the aggravated identity theft charges could lead to additional sentencing.

Bank of America clients that were defrauded included those from Greater Boston, Magnolia, North Shore, and the Merrimack Valley.

Access Device Fraud: This term can refer to fraud crimes involving the use of access device numbers, such as ATM pin numbers, debit card codes, long-distances access codes, and computer passwords.

Bank Fraud: Can refer to fraud crimes that involve obtaining assets, funds, securities or money that is held or owned by a financial institution.

Aggravated Identity Theft: Involves using a stolen identity to commit a crime.

Our Boston criminal defense lawyers are amazed at how many times people are charged with white collar crimes that are a result of a simple misunderstanding or the wrong person being targeted as a “fall guy.”

Man, 25, indicted for ID theft, bank fraud, GloucesterTimes.com, June 5, 2009
Peabody bank teller accused of stealing customer IDs, Boston Herald, June 5, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Financial Crimes Division, United States Secret Service
White Collar Crimes Overview, Justia Continue reading

June 11, 2009

A Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Discusses Student Arrests And The Resulting Effects On A Student’s Future (Part One)

by Altman & Altman

This week, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog examined various news stories about a particular large population in the Boston area, namely, students. Whether it be graduate school, college, high school or even grammar school, a momentary, perhaps youthful, mistake can bring a postponement or even end to a lifetime of future dreams for that student and accompanying family. Now, as schools are adjourning for the summer, and graduations are upon us, our weekly Attorney Sam’s Take discussion looks directly at how the criminal justice system, and its results, can effect Massachusetts students.

There is a lot to say, so this week’s Discussion is a two-parter, which will continue into and conclude tomorrow, Friday, June 12th.

How many times have you read about a youth getting arrested and thought, “Well, it’s a kid. A juvenile. What can they do to a kid…spank him?”

Well, no. Spanking has been off the criminal justice books for many a decade.

However, the myth that juvenile offenders cannot be damaged by the justice system, although widely believed, is not really true. Most kids, of course, do not realize that. This is why many ongoing criminal enterprises, such as drug traffickers, are often able to use juveniles to do the “dirty work” of street selling. They convince the young eager entrepreneur that “the law” cannot really touch him/her and so, while the chance for money is high, the accompanying risk is low.
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June 10, 2009

Boston Area High School Student Arrested For Assault Threats At Graduation

by Altman & Altman

The Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School graduation was last week. One of the hopeful graduates, 17-year-old Pauline F. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was all set to take that exciting step. But things did not go as planned. Now, she needs something else…a lawyer.

You see, the Defendant was arrested at the site of the graduation before she could actually receive her high school diploma.

Police Officer Sean Lowe was working a paid uniform detail for the graduation when a commotion erupted as more than 300 cap-and-gown clad graduating students lined up to walk across the stage. According to law enforcement, the Defendant, dressed in her black graduation gown, was shouting obscenities while pacing back and forth and crying.

And why was she crying?

Well, apparently, CRLS Principal Christopher Saheed and John Silva, the security director at the high school, had told the Defendant that she would not be allowed to walk across the stage with her class. Perhaps determined not to ruin the day, the Defendant is said to have threatened that she would walk across the stage anyway and that she would slap any officer who got in her way, according to police reports.

Yes, that would be “slap” as in “assault and battery“.
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June 9, 2009

Boston Area College Student Arrested For “Hate Crime” Assault On The Cape

by Altman & Altman

Eric P., a college student from Winthrop (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was apparently vacationing on Cape Cod last month. His souvenirs from the trip include an arrest record and a relationship with a criminal defense attorney.

You see, the Defendant had a little trouble in Provincetown. According to law enforcement, he approached two women in the after midnight hours in front of the Post Office Café’ and Cabaret on Commercial Street, using slurs to refer to men he assumed to be gay. He apparently followed up his impressive verbiage by pushing one of the women through a window, breaking the window and causing minor injuries to the women necessitating stitches. He is also accused of punching the women in the stomach and calling them “faggots”. According to reports, both women required medical attention.

He now faces various assault charges in connection to what has been called an anti-gay attack on the woman.

The Defendant did not make it too far after the assault, however. An angry mob reportedly formed around him as he was being arrested.

The Defendant, who had been visiting with his mother who lived near the crime scene, had apparently been drinking. In fact, authorities say that he had been ejected from the Vixen nightclub before the attack.

Would it surprise you to hear that the arrest did not go too smoothly? By the time he got to Orleans District Court, he not only faced the felony hate-crime assault charges, but also charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. He has been accused of spitting at one officer and kicking another.
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June 9, 2009

Clark Rockefeller Kidnapped His Daughter Out of Pure Madness, Says His Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney

by Altman & Altman

A Massachusetts jury spent more than 3 ½ hours deliberating the fate of Clark Rockefeller before going home for the day. The 44-year-defendant is charged with kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter last summer. During closing arguments, the prosecution had urged the jury to think of the defendant as controlling, self-centered, and an expert manipulator-albeit with a personality disorder-Rockefeller’s defense attorney argued that his client suffers from an acute mental illness and that it was “pure madness” that drove him to take his daughter.

He also contended that there is no way that Dr. James A. Chu, the psychiatrist for the prosecution, could have properly diagnosed his client after just one 2 ½ hour session. The defense noted that its own mental health experts, who were trained in forensics and had evaluated dozens of defendants in the past, met with Rockefeller 14 times for a total of 28 hours.

Rockefeller had pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping charge by reason of insanity after he abducted his daughter on July 27 during a supervised visit. They traveled to Maryland and he was arrested six days after they disappeared. His daughter Reigh was found unharmed. He is also is charged with assault and giving police a false name.

Rockefeller’s Massachusetts kidnapping case has drawn national attention in part because of his interesting backstory. His real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter and he reportedly has used five different aliases over the years, including pretending to belong to the famous Rockefeller family.

He later married Sandra Boss, who is Reigh’s mother. Boss says she never doubted her husband’s personal history until she hired a private investigator when they got a divorce in 2007. Rockefeller’s attorney claims that Rockefeller “went over the edge” after Boss filed for divorce and he lost custody of his daughter. Rockefeller believes his daughter was using telepathy to tell him that she needed to be saved.

‘Clark Rockefeller’ kidnapping case goes to jury, Google/AP, June 8, 2009
Defense closing: Rockefeller not ‘playing with a full deck’, Boston.com, June 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Clark Rockefeller Case Timeline, Boston.com
Massachusetts Laws, Justia Continue reading

June 8, 2009

Boston Area College Student In Trouble After Murder On Harvard University Campus

by Altman & Altman

Last week, I posted a blog about a group of do-it-yourself sleuths who tried to solve the murder mystery of fallen 21-year-old Justin C. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) at Harvard University. The result? The investigators they hired ended up arrested instead. That posting, by the way, can be found here. Meantime, the professionals were busy at work trying to solve the murder mystery that had come to Cambridge. The police arrested Jabrai C., 20, of New York, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) for the crime. The Defendant and his lawyer have answered “Not Guilty” to charges of murder, accessory after the fact to murder and Massachusetts possession of a firearm.

The Deceased had been shot in the basement common room in a dormitory of the Cambridge campus. It has been determined that multiple shots were fired at the scene and that there were individuals aside from the Defendant and Deceased, who were present and involved in the shooting.

The Defendant, a New York songwriter, turned himself in to the Cambridge Police, according to the District Attorney’s office of Middlesex County, and will be held without bail until his July 15th hearing. However, the DA has also announced that two female Harvard students are linked to the incident. It is suspected that they allowed those involved in the murder to gain entry to Kirkland House.

Leone declined to comment on what if any charges might be pressed against the two Harvard students, but they both were asked to leave campus and are not be allowed to graduate this month. One of the two women is Chanequa C. (hereinafter, the “Accused”)

“This is a highly educated, independent young woman who has literally been cared for since she was a teenager by Harvard-and now they have terminated her right to be on campus,” the Accused lawyer has complained. “There is no justification for it. She may have known the people involved, but you know, it’s not guilt by association in this country.”
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June 7, 2009

Group Reports Massachusetts 15 Domestic Violence Homicides to Date for 2009

by Altman & Altman

According to Jane Doe Inc., there have been 15 domestic violence deaths in Massachusetts this year. The latest victim, Rebecca C. Moulton, was allegedly beaten to death by her live-in boyfriend. Moulton was 27.

Her boyfriend, David W. Vincent from Pittsfield, was initially held for assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery. On Friday, Vincent pleaded guilty to an “upgraded” charge of murder.

Jane Doe Inc. says that there were 25 domestic violence murder in 2008 and 42 domestic violence deaths in 2007.

Domestic Violence
Domestic violence may consist of violent interactions between family members or members of the same household or people that are or were romantically involved with one another. Domestic violence should not be tolerated.

While this is a serious crime that can cause great injury to its victims, not everyone that is accused of committing domestic violence is guilty of the offense. In some instances, a fight between a husband and wife can be wrongly construed as a domestic violence incident, with one party forced to take the brunt of the blame. False accusations have also been known to occur-sometimes brought about during the heat of the moment.

An experienced Boston criminal defense law firm understands that there are often complex dynamics at play during interactions between family members and lovers. Massachusetts, however, has a mandatory arrest police that mandates that law enforcement officers arrest anyone accused of domestic violence. Domestic charges may include allegations of assault, harassment, reckless endangerment, restraining order violations, assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful imprisonment, stalking, kidnapping, and murder.

You are entitled to the best defense possible against any Massachusetts domestic violence allegation or criminal charge. The outcome of your case could affect your marriage, your career, divorce or child custody proceedings, and the rest of your life.

Cops: State logs 15th domestic violence homicide of 2009, Boston Herald, June 6, 2009
Pittsfield Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder, CBS 3 Springfield, June 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
One Million False Allegations of Domestic Violence Each Year, Report Finds, MediaRadar.org, January 29, 2007
Domestic Violence, The National Father’s Resource Center Continue reading

June 4, 2009

The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog Discusses The Truth About Probation Surrenders

by Altman & Altman

It is Thursday and so, as any regular reader of the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog knows, it is time for another Attorney Sam’s Take discussion about an area in the law which effects those who have found themselves involved in the criminal justice system. Today we examine the truth about being on probation.

If you have not experienced it yourself or through a loved one, probationary circumstances generally come about in one of two ways. The first is, after being re-named “Defendant”, one is allowed to await trial unencumbered by steel bars.

While this type of probation generally has no extra conditions (except keeping away from the complainant if there is one), it can have conditions. The one condition it always carries, however, may seem obvious…but the consequences usually are not. This is the condition of not getting arrested, or gifted with new criminal charges, while in this “bail” posture. What many people do not realize, although the court is now required to tell them upon the continuance of the case, is that if they do pick up new charges, they can be held on the present case in custody without any bail for up to 60 days.

That’s right…I did not say “convicted”. I was talking about simply being charged. For those of you scratching your heads, sensing an inconsistency, you are correct. This would mean that you could be held in custody without any bail on a matter in which you are still presumed innocent because you have been merely accused of another crime…of which you are presumed innocent and will not even face trial for a number of months.

As I have many times explained, simply being charged is the violation. It does not matter that you have not been convicted of anything.
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June 3, 2009

Boston-Area “Crime Club” Actions Result In Charges Of Breaking And Entering And New Clients For Cambridge Defense Attorneys

by Altman & Altman

Every once in a while, a news story prompts me to admit something about my personal life. This is one of those. The confession is that I grew up loving comic books, or, as they are now called, “graphic novels”. Given the popularity of superhero movies of the last several years, I guess I was not alone. I particularly enjoyed the ones involving super-heroes who went out and fought crime. Many of the superheroes, such as Daredevil, usually worked alone (incidentally, his secret identity, Mathew Murdock was a criminal defense attorney), acted alone. However, there were various groupings of heroes, such as the X-Men, Avengers and Justice League of America, who worked together to fight threats to the universe. Sometimes the action was as close as New York or Boston…sometimes far away in other countries and planets.

Of course, that was all just fantasy…or was it?

According to yesterday’s Boston Globe, there exists a “crime club” right here in the Boston area. It’s secret headquarters is nestled in that institution of scientific education, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, otherwise known as Cambridge’s own “MIT”.

MIT students are no strangers to criminal justice controversy. Not too long ago, for example, there was that incident of a student and criminal charges for terrorizing armed security personnel.

But who knew there was a secret cabal called a “Crime Club”?
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