Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

January 15, 2009

Boston Appeals Court Finds Defense Lawyer in Drive-By Shooting Case Ineffective

On Tuesday, the state Appeals Court, located in Boston, granted Adam N. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”)’s appeal and Ordered that he receive a hearing in a drive-by shooting case in which he had been convicted in 2004. The basis of the ruling was that he had been deprived of a fair trial because his attorney was “ineffective”.

The Appeals Court sent the case back to Hampden Superior Court for the hearing. The Defendant’s appellate attorney said she is pleased with the Appeals Court ruling, although she would have preferred an order for a new trial without the hearing.

The case stems from December 20, 2002, when the Defendant is said to have participated in a drive-by shooting of two individuals, Akers and Cope, in downtown Springfield. According to the Court:

“The traffic light turned green. As Akers pulled away from the stop, he and the passenger in the other vehicle simultaneously rolled down their windows. At the same time, Akers reached to his right for the volume control on his car radio, in order to turn it down. He then heard gun shots. Akers saw the face of the front passenger and saw a flash coming from what he thought was a gun in the passenger’s hand; Cope saw flashes, but did not see the passenger’s face. The exchange lasted a few seconds. Both Akers and Cope were struck by bullets in their legs.”

The police were given the description of “three light-skinned black males, all very young looking.” The witnesses were also able to describe the vehicle as “a dark colored car, possibly a Nissan or Honda, with tinted windows”. Later, in the hospital, the shooting victims discussed their recollections and one stated that the shooter “looked like a [Defendant’s last name] that he went to school with that was younger.”
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January 14, 2009

Murder Trial Finally Begins After North Of Boston Lawyer And Doctors Examine Client And Her Statements

by Altman & Altman

As a defense lawyer, one occasionally handles cases that seemingly will not end. Through my years in Boston and environs, I have had more than my share.

This case was probably regarded as one of those cases.

62- year-old Kathleen H. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is finally going to trial. She is charged with setting a fire that killed five people ten years ago. The trial started this week in Lawrence Superior Court.

Prosecutors say that she set a fire at a Lynn home where her son’s ex-girlfriend lived because she wouldn’t let him see his two kids. The ex-girlfriend and the Defendant’s grandchildren survived, but members of another family that lived in the same building died. The deaths included Heriberto Feliciano, 34, his wife, Sonia Hernandez, 32; their daughters, Sonia, 12, and Maria, 13; and their niece, Glorimar Santiago,11, who was sleeping over. All died from smoke inhalation.

The Defendant is charged with five counts of second-degree murder as well as a single count of arson.

She has been held in jail for a decade while her lawyer fought to keep the jury from hearing an alleged confession she made after the February. 24, 1999, blaze, as well as to determine her competency to stand trial.
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January 13, 2009

Boston Area Police Officers Approve Of Defense Attorneys When Facing Charges Of White Collar Crimes And Drunk Driving

by Altman & Altman

So far, 2009 has been an active year for certain Boston-area law enforcement officials in terms of legal problems. Take for example Stoughton’s police chief, Manuel, C., 57 (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”), this week appearing beside his defense attorney, standing trial on white collar charges that he tried to use his authority to threaten a former Stoughton businessman in April 2002 to drop a complaint of misconduct against a former police sergeant.

He’s also accused of trying to cover up the sergeant’s attempt to coerce a settlement of a civil claim against the businessman.

Defendant 1 has been on paid leave since he was indicted nearly four years ago. He began trial in Dedham Superior Court yesterday.

Then there is the tale of Brockton Police Officer Daniel M., 31, (hereinafter, “Defendant 2”) who has finally returned to work for the first time since his May 2005 arrest on a rape charge. He is now undergoing retraining before hitting the streets again, Police Chief William Conlon said.

Superior Court Judge Paul Troy is said to have dismissed the rape charge last week after a series of legal proceedings and after the woman making the allegations failed to appear in court at any time. Because the charge was dropped, Defendant 2 will receive back pay from the city. Conlon said the city is now calculating that amount.

Defendant 2 had already served a five-day suspension given by then Police Chief Paul Studenski in connection with the case, Conlon said.
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January 13, 2009

New Bedford Man Charged with Killing His Ex-Girlfriend and Mother and Kidnapping 12-Year-Old Girl Has Prior Assault and Battery Convictions

by Altman & Altman

The Boston Herald is reporting that the New Bedford man charged with the murders of his mother and ex-girlfriend and in the kidnapping of a 12-year-old daughter has previous criminal convictions going back as far as 1992. Gary Gomes was arrested and charged last week after the two women’s bodies were discovered.

His mother Katherine Gomes’s body was found under an inflatable bed in her apartment. The body of Gary’s ex-girlfriend, Robyn Mendes, was found in another room. Both women had been fatally stabbed.

Prosecutors claim that Gomes dressed up Mendes’s body and put make up on her face after he murdered her. Gomes is also accused of going to Mendes’s house after the slayings and holding her 12-year-old daughter hostage while waiting for her husband to arrive so that he could kill him.

January 12, 2009

Sex And The Boston Teacher Mean Business For Courts And The Criminal Lawyers As Rape Charges Are Filed

by Altman & Altman

Police say Christine M., 29, a Boston teacher (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), was instructing one particular student in areas not on any approved curriculum. In fact, she apparently did so for almost two years and is said to have done it more than 300 times. Now, charged with rape, it is she who is going to have to learn from her defense lawyer.

The Defendant did not end the first full week of the new year in a good way last week. She was fired Thursday from her job at the elementary school. Thursday night, she was arrested at her home. Friday was “Court Day”, as she was arraigned on three counts of rape at the Brockton District Court (for sessions in Abington), and then to Hingham District Court to answer four additional counts for rape for the sessions in Rockland. She was released on condition she submit to GPS monitoring and stay away from the complainant and anyone under age 16.

The complainant, a 13-year-old student, says that they had a sexual liaison between the dates of February 2006, when she allegedly took his virginity, to November 2007. The lad told police they had sex for the first time on a couch at the Defendant’s home while her husband slept upstairs. He also described having unprotected sex in the shower, on the kitchen floor and on the living room floor, court documents say.

The Commonwealth alleges that the Defendant was working as a teacher’s aide and tutoring the boy’s younger brother when the relationship began. They claim that the father of the boy, now 16, went to authorities recently after he found some correspondence between his son and the Defendant.
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January 9, 2009

Boston’s Attorney General Targets Harassment And Hate Crimes

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday’s daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog talked about “Road Rage“. I even mentioned “Domestic Violence” cases. Today, we hit their cousin, “Hate Crimes“.

Hate Crimes is another category which brings extra focus on a case which otherwise might be a typical assault, threats or other such case. What makes a case a hate crime is the rationale behind the crime. If it is motivated by racial, gender or other kind of prejudice, it is a hate crime and gets special treatment. In fact, in the federal system, an additional count regarding civil rights violations can be brought.

Today’s example involves Debroah M. of Norwood (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) who has come to the attention of Attorney General Martha Coakley who has taken action against her. The Defendant is alleged to have repeatedly harassed a gay neighbor.

The neighbor is a tenant in the same apartment building where the Defendant lives. The Defendant is said to have been engaging in the harassment for a long time. In November, 2007, for example, officials said she began spreading false rumors that the victim is a sexual predator and pedophile.

A complaint was filed December 31st by the Attorney General. It alleges how the Defendant harassed the victim in a number of ways, including spreading false rumors that he was a sexual predator and pedophile, screaming anti-gay epithets at him, and falsely reporting to police that he had exposed himself.
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January 9, 2009

Recent Celebrity DUI Arrests Include Charles Barkley and Sam Shepherd

by Altman & Altman

The year 2009 has just began, and already, there are already a couple of celebrity DUI arrests in the police record books. On New Year’s Eve, television commentator and former basketball star Charles Barkley was arrested in Arizona on suspicion of drunk driving after he ran a stop sign. He underwent field sobriety tests at the scene, but refused to take a breath test. Barkley was given a blood test at the police station and was cited for driving while being impaired.

On Saturday, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and movie star Sam Shephard was arrested for allegedly drunk driving and speeding in Illinois after leaving a bar. His blood-alcohol level was reportedly two times the legal limit. Shephard was released Sunday after posting bond.

Last Friday, television star Heather Locklear’s DUI case was dismissed after she entered a no-contest plea to a reckless driving misdemeanor charge. Locklear had been arrested and charged last September with misdemeanor driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Now, she must undergo probation for 3 years, take part in a 12-hour drug education program, and pay a $700 fine.

Celebrities are not the only ones at risk of drunk driving, especially during the holiday season. Over New Year’s Eve, the Massachusetts State Police Department increased its patrol efforts to keep drunk drivers off the streets. An additional 410 patrols were on duty.

State police say that as of December 30, they had made 5,004 OUI arrests for operating under the influence in 2008-a 7% increase from 2007, while Massachusetts OUI crashes were down by 6% at 584 accidents.

With additional police vigilance comes more arrests. However, just because a person has been arrested for a Massachusetts OUI does not mean that they are guilty of the charges or will be convicted.

Barkley ‘disappointed’ after DUI arrest, The Boston Channel, January 5, 2009
Sam Shephard Arrested for DUI, Boston Herald, January 5, 2009
Locklear DUI case dismissed after plea deal, MSNBC, January 2, 2009
Police Crack Down On Drunken Drivers, WCVB, December 30, 2008 Continue reading

January 8, 2009

Boston-area Driving Leads To Weapons, Violence, Jail And Defense Lawyers

by Altman & Altman

Driving around Boston and environs during the winter months can be an adventure. We know that the storms are coming…they tell us the storms are coming…yet we seem to be taken by surprise when streets are slippery. Perhaps it is because we are often already angry when we are dealing with traffic issues. From my vast experience of 25 years in criminal justice I have found that even waiting patiently in a traffic jam is quicker than getting angry, acting out, getting arrested, needing a lawyer and still having to wait quietly in traffic when you get out of custody anyway.

Hey – but that’s just me.

Not everybody sees it the same way I do. For example, during the early morning hours yesterday, four people in Springfield demonstrated such an alternate viewpoint. Of course, they got arrested and I am at home writing my daily blog.

The arrests took place after a minor two-vehicle accident turned into a violent confrontation on Chestnut and State streets.

Complete with gunfire.

“When police arrived they observed a Ford Expedition leaving the scene of the shooting,” said Springfield Police Capt. Eugene C. Dexheimer. The operator of the Expedition (hereinafter, ” Defendant Auto A”) would not stop and was spotted by other officers on Route 5 near the Forest Park entrance approaching a Ford Mustang (hereinafter, “Defendant Auto B”), Dexheimer said.

Police determined the incident began as a car accident between the two vehicles, which then led to a physical confrontation.
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January 7, 2009

Boston Watches As Bernard Madoff’s Criminal Lawyer Tries To Keep Him Out Of Custody

by Altman & Altman

…Meanwhile, back in the Bernard Madoff (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) drama, Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis awaits written argument from the Defendant’s criminal lawyer as to why his client should not be incarcerated while awaiting trial for his artful recreation of the Boston – originated “Ponzi Scheme”.

The issues involved are an interesting combination of typical bail-related considerations as well as a novel twist to the “danger to the community” approach.

First of all, for those of you just waking up from about a month-long nap, the Defendant was arrested on December 11th on a securities fraud charge after the FBI said he confessed to swindling investors. Authorities say he told his sons he ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme and had only a few hundred million dollars left.

The results of the fraud have been felt around the globe and across all strata of society.

He has been under house arrest at his multimillion-dollar Manhattan penthouse with an electronic bracelet and 24-hour guard.

But that status may be about to change.

On Monday, prosecutors asked the court for the Defendant’s immediate incarceration, saying he and his wife violated a court order by sending jewelry and antique watches worth more than $1 million to relatives and friends over the holidays. They argued that the action violated a freeze of the Defendant’s assets and demonstrated a danger to investors that he might dissipate assets. In effect, that by dissipating assets, he was continuing his thefts from his victims.

The judge asked lawyers on both sides during a bail hearing Monday to submit arguments this week to help him decide whether the Defendant should be jailed before trial.
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January 6, 2009

Boston Area Ex-Cop threatens to kill police and winds up on the side of the aisle with the defense lawyer

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday, it was a former Boston police officer who found himself on the other side of the criminal justice aisle needing a criminal lawyer.

Ex-Boston Police Officer Isaac T., 43, of Arlington (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) ‘s legal problems began in the early morning hours of this past Saturday when he was allegedly observed to be drunk and carrying a BPD badge and a loaded 9 mm handgun when he was arrested at a Dorchester bar.

“Arrested? What would bring him to law enforcement attention?”

Well, he kind of said he would shoot a cop, according to prosecutors. In fact, he apparently said that he was carrying the firearm for the purpose of doing just that, according to MSNBC.

It was Saturday at about 1:30 a.m. at the Dublin House in Dorchester. After hearing the ex-guardian of society’s comments, an anonymous call was made to 911 from the pub to report the overheard threat. The Defendant was described as a man wearing a New York Yankees hat…which is sometimes considered a crime in itself in the area.

And so it was that the police confronted the Defendant outside the bar. Actually, he was hiding in a doorway next door to the nightclub when they confronted him.

They frisked him and found the 9 mm Beretta handgun. Apparently a loyal member of the “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” Club, the Defendant is said to have engaged in a “violent struggle” with two officers, the prosecutor later told the court in a bail hearing.

The Defendant, it would appear, did not win that struggle.
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