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Former football star O.J. Simpson was arrested on Sunday. He was charged with six felonies related to an armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.

Simpson was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary with a firearm, and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. He is being held without bail.

According to the former football star, he and a number of people he met at a cocktail party conducted a “sting operation” last Thursday to retrieve some stolen sports memorabilia that belonged to him. He has denied committing any crime.

Sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley says that Simpson and four men came into his room at the hotel and took memorabilia, including pictures and books signed by Simpson, Beardsley’s cell phone, and lithographs of former San Francisco 49er football player quarterback Joe Montana with them. Beardlsey says that two of the men were armed.

Simpson says that he and the men went into the hotel room and pretended that they wanted to buy the suit that he wore to court in 1995 on the day he was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. They also took a picture of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover with them, as well as Simpson’s Hall of Fame Certificate. Simpson says that the items that had belonged to him had been stolen from him a number of years ago.

Theft crimes are punishable criminal offenses. Petty theft crimes (involving less than $250), shoplifting, grand larceny (involving more than $250), forgery, stealing property, auto theft, accepting stolen property, burglary, pick pocketing, mail fraud, robbery, and burglary, and white collar theft are all theft crimes.

The value and nature of the stolen items and whether the person has any prior criminal conviction can affect the penalty of a person convicted of a theft crime. A theft where more than $250 in property was stolen is considered a felony crime.

Also arrested on Saturday in connection to the robbery is Walter Alexander, 46. He was arrested on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary with a dead weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery.

O.J. Simpson Arrested on Robbery Charges, New York Times, September 16, 2007
O.J. Simpson Arrested in Vegas Robbery, AP, September 16, 2007
Sports Memorabilia Dealer Implicates O.J. Simpson in Hotel Room Robbery, NY Times, September 15, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Palace Station Hotel and Casino
Continue reading

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Warren Steed Jeffs, the leader and prophet of the country’s biggest polygamist sect, is about to stand trial for accomplice to rape. Jeffs’s accuser, a woman under police protection, was 14 years old when Jeffs forced her to take part in a “spiritual marriage” with her 19-year-old first cousin-despite her wish that she not marry him. Jeffs married the couple in Las Vegas. The marriage, however, was not sanctioned by the state of Nevada.

Jeffs is charged with two felony counts of rape as an accomplice. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The fourth day of jury selection ended today.

The girl told police that she was uncomfortable with her husband’s sexual demands, but that Jeffs advised her that to obey him was her spiritual duty. According to Jeffs, not obeying her spouse would cause her to lose her salvation. He also referred to her husband as her spiritual leader.

Jeffs is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS). There are more than 8,000 FDLS members. Many girls, as young as age 13, are forced to marry men chosen by FDLS leaders. Men need at least three wives to get to heaven and women must have one baby a year.

About 70 followers are listed as possible witnesses for his trial. Former FDLS followers say that child molestation, incest, and spousal abuse are common within the FDLS community.

For 115 days, Jeffs was included on the list of the FBI’s Most Wanted. He was apprehended in Las Vegas in August 2006. Following his trial in Utah, Jeffs will have to answer to arrest charges in Arizona.

Accomplice to Rape
Being charged as an accomplice to rape means that Jeffs isn’t’ charged with physically rape the girl. He is charged because he forced a minor to marry an older man.

Polygamist prophet is now a criminal defendant, CNN.com, September 12, 2007
Prophet or accomplice to rape?, Winnipeg Free Press, September 9, 2007
Polygamist in Utah court on Rape charge, USA Today, November 22, 2006
Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Appears in Court, CNN, November 21, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Wanted by the FBI, FBI.gov Continue reading

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Carlos A. Pizarro, one of three former Boston police officers that were arrested in an undercover drug bust last year, pled guilty to federal cocaine charges yesterday. He pled guilty to possession of 100 kg of cocaine with intent to distribute and a second count of cocaine possession with intent to distribute. As part of the plea deal, the government dropped its charge that Pizarro engaged in heroin trafficking.

Pizarro has already spent a year in jail while waiting for his trial. In court yesterday, Pizarro admitted to guarding a shipment of cocaine in 2006 for drug dealers that were actually undercover FBI agents. The other two ex-police officers, Nelson Carrasquillo and Roberto Pulido, continue to maintain their innocence.

The plea deal does not obligate Pizarro to testify against his two former partners. He does, however, have to provide details regarding his own involvement in any crimes. He also has to give up the $17,000 he was given to protect the drug shipment. The government will now recommend that he serve no more than 14 years in prison.

The three former police officers were taken into custody in Miami in July 2006 when they came to a meeting with undercover FBI agents. The agents paid the three men the remaining $36,000 of their $51,000 fee for guarding the shipment while it was transported to Jamaica Plain from Western Massachusetts.

Pulido, dubbed the group’s ringleader, is also accused of identity theft, bringing illegal immigrants into the country, selling steroids, insurance fraud, and guarding parties attended by drug dealers, police officers, and prostitutes at a warehouse in Hyde Park. He had initially been suspended without pay after his arrest related to the undercover drug bust. He was fired in May 2007, however, after he refused to take his yearly drug test.

Pulido has to stay in jail until the case is resolved. Carrasquillo is out on bail.

Here are a few facts about drugs in Massachusetts from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s web site:

• The primary drugs that are abused in Massachusetts are heroin and cocaine.
• MDMA, a club drug, is also widely available in Massachusetts • Other drugs that are readily available in Massachusetts include marijuana, Roxicet, Percocet, and OxyContin
A person can be apprehended for drug-related charges if he or she is found trafficking drugs, distributing drugs, smuggling drugs, manufacturing drugs, laundering money related to drug deals, or drug possession.

Ex-officer admits guilt in drug case, Boston.com, September 11, 2007
Massachusetts 2007: Drugs and Drug Abuse, DEA

Related Web Resources:

Drugs and Crime Facts, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Drug Policy Alliance Continue reading

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In Suffolk Superior Court, the second murder trial of John Gomes, 30, began with opening statements. Gomes is charged with the first-degree murder of Ildobrando Correia, a Dorchester youth soccer coach that was shot to death at the age of 45 in August 2002.

Correia was in his car, having just dropped off an elderly friend, when Gomes allegedly fired 18 shots into the motor vehicle and fled the scene. Prosecutors say that Gomes mistakenly thought Correia, a husband and a father, was a rival.

Gomes allegedly got rid of the 9mm semiautomatic handgun-tagged as the murder weapon-behind a house.

Following Gomes’s murder, Correia moved several times across the U.S. before being caught by police at a traffic stop in Florida. His first trial began in May 2006, but the attorney for the defense left the case after Gomes allegedly tried to choke him with his necktie. Gomes faces assault charges in that attack.

First-Degree Murder
The law in Massachusetts defines first-degree murder to include murders committed with deliberate and premeditated intent. “Deliberate premeditation” is the phrase used for the thought process that the alleged perpetrator went through in order to kill the victim. There must also be what is called “malice aforethought.” This means that the murderer intended to inflict serious physical harm or death upon another person without legal justification or acted in a way that serious injury or death was very likely inevitable. In the instance of the latter, however, malice aforethought can consist of the murderer knowing that his actions likely would have lead to serious injury or death.

First-degree murder can also be committed with extreme cruelty, which means that the murder victim experienced suffering more cruel that most others that die by murder. The way that the victim died, whether the murderer enjoyed or was indifferent to the victim’s pain, the extent of physical injuries, and how much the victim suffered are all factors.

In a felony first-degree murder, a murder is committed while committing a felony crime that purposely disregarded human life and resulted in the death.

A person convicted of first-degree murder in Massachusetts faces life in prison and no parole.

For 2d time, man’s murder trial begins, Boston.com, September 7, 2007
Jury selection begins in Dorchester dad slay case, Bostonherald.com, September 5, 2007
Chapter 265: Section 1. Murder defined, The General Laws of Massachusetts Continue reading

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According to youth advocates, teenagers, and street workers, girl groups in Massachusetts are continuing to inflict violence on each other-despite the latest police figures.

The violence is reportedly triggered by gossip and jealousy. Knives, fists, and razors have fast become the common weapons of choice in these kinds of juvenile crimes. Girls getting ready for a fight will reportedly smear petroleum jelly on their faces so that their opponent’s fingernails won’t leave facial scars. One popular kind of assault crime, called “a buck fifty,” leave the slashing victim with such a deep cut on her face that it should take 15 stitches to close the wound.

Boston police, however, say that violent crimes between girls have gone down since 2005. From January 1 to August 15, 2006, 112 girls, ages 14-19, were apprehended for participating in aggravated assault crimes on other females. This year, during the same time period, only 96 girls were apprehended. As of August 1, 2007, there are 302 less women in custody with the Department of Youth Services than there were by August 1 of last year.

Others, however, have expressed concern that the lower figures do not indicate a decrease in gang violence, but are a reflection of the growing reluctance of girls to report that they have been the victim of assault by a girl gang because of fear and embarrassment.

Although studies show that girls tend to join groups for safety reasons, many of them end up getting hurt because of the rivalries that can arise between groups.

Juvenile Crimes
In Massachusetts, minors that are arrested for committing crimes do stand a chance of being served a less severe penalty than an adult convicted of the same kind of crime. If a juvenile is convicted for committing a serious crime, such as rape, assault with a deadly weapon, or other kinds of felony crimes, the young person could be handed over to the Department of Youth and placed in its custody until age 18.

In Massachusetts, a juvenile is a young person between 7 and 17 years of age. Juveniles charged with committing a crime in Massachusetts are usually prosecuted in juvenile court.

Youthful Offender Law
Massachusetts’s Youthful Offender allows the state to prosecute teenagers, ages 14-17, that are charged with a felony crime as “Youthful Offenders” if they fit the following criteria:

• He or she is already committed to the Department of Youth Services (DYS).

• He or she is charged with a crime that involves the “infliction or threat of serious bodily harm.

• He or she is charged with a firearm offense.

Conviction as a Youthful Offender can lead to House of Correction or adult prison sentences and other serious penalties.

Vicious attacks by girl cliques seen increasing, Boston.com, September 4, 2007
MA Courts, Probation and the Department of Youth Services (DYS), Youth Advocacy Project.org

Related Web Resources:

Department of Youth Services, Mass.gov
Girl Gangs: Are Girls Getting More Violent?, UIC.edu
Teenage Girls Buying into Gang Violence, Casanet.org Continue reading

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Authorities have released an audiotape of an interview between Idahoan Senator Larry Craig and the police officer that arrested him at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig was arrested earlier this month after allegedly trying to engage in lewd conduct in an airport bathroom. He later pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

In the audiotape, Craig can be heard accusing the arresting officer of trying to entrap him. The officer is heard denying this. He promises not to take Craig to jail if he cooperates and accuses the senator of lying to him repeatedly. The officer can also be heard trying to get Craig to admit to the crime.

On Tuesday, Senator Craig told reporters that he “overreacted and made a poor decision” when he pled guilty and that he did not participate in any “inappropriate conduct” in the airport bathroom.

No sexual contact is said to have taken place. According to the arresting officer, Craig’s foot touched the officer’s foot while they sat next to one another in separate bathroom stalls.

Entrapment
Entrapment might have taken place if it can be proven that an investigating or arresting officer tried to induce a suspect into committing a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed. It is not, however, considered entrapment if a person intended to commit the crime and law enforcement officers created a situation that allowed the person to do so.

If a defendant can prove that he or she was a victim of entrapment, he or she cannot be found guilty of the crime even if all the evidence points toward guilt.

Actions by police that can are considered entrapment include putting pressure on a defendant to commit the crime (includes harassing, pressuring, or coaxing the suspect) and giving someone a reason to commit the crime.

On tape, Craig denies allegations of soliciting officer, CNN.com, August 30, 2007
Entrapment, Lectlaw.com

Related Web Resources:

Airport Restroom Sex Senator Larry Craig Guilty Plea (Court Document)

Larry Craig: US Senator for Idaho
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A 39-year-old Massachusetts man is accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and seriously injuring her two daughters at the home that the four of them shared in Norton. Robert McDermott’s body was found on Monday at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority railroad tracks in Walpole where he shot and killed himself.

Police and prosecutors say that Norton and his former girlfriend kept breaking up and getting back together again and that their relationship was very volatile. The relationship took a fatally violent turn when Norton shot his 44-year-old ex-girlfriend and her two teenage girls.

The girls’ father found his daughters alive in the hallway. They had been shot in the head. He discovered his ex-wife’s body in her bed.

McDermott reportedly did not have a license to carry and use a gun. The two girls, ages 15 and 12, are being treated at Children’s Hospital in Providence.

Endabuse.org offers a number of statistics on domestic homicides:

• In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by their intimate partners. 440 men were killed by their intimate partners.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

• In the U.S., approximately 1.5 million women and over 800,000 men were assaulted by an intimate partner every year (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).

• 1,300 people die and close to 2 million people are injured because of IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) every year (CDC 2003).

• 11% of all murder victims from 1976-2000 were murdered by their intimate partners.

• 24% of the murder victims in 2002 were men killed by an intimate partner. The remaining 76% IPV homicide victims were women.

• The number one weapon used in IPV the gun.

In Massachusetts, the penalties for murder and crimes related to domestic violence, including assault, battery, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and restraining order violations, can be very severe. This is why it is so important that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney that knows how properly and successfully defend you against violent crime charges and convictions
Man shoots ex-girlfriend, 2 daughters before killing self, Boston.com, August 27, 2007
Intimate Partner Violence: Overview, CDC.gov
Domestic Violence is a Serious, Widespread Social Problem in America: The Facts, Endabuse.org

Related Web Site:

Domestic Violence, National Center for Victims of Crime Continue reading

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Movie star Lindsay Lohan will serve 10 days of community service, complete a drug treatment program, and serve one day in jail after reaching a plea deal on charges of drunken driving and driving under the influence of cocaine. As part of her deal, she will complete an 18-month alcohol education program and be on probation for 36 months.

The actress had initially been sentenced to 96 hours in jail. Her jail time was then lowered to 90 hours because of the time she served during her arrest.

Lohan issued a statement admitting that she was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was taking responsibility for breaking the law by pleading guilty to the charges made against her.

Earlier Thursday, she was charged with seven misdemeanors connected to two drunk driving arrests over the past four months. Prosecutors did not file more serious felony drug charges because they say there wasn’t enough drugs on her to do so.

Lohan pleaded guilty to two counts of being under the influence of cocaine. She also pleaded no contest to one count of reckless driving and two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level higher than .08%. The two counts of DUI were dropped.

The movie star was arrested in Santa Monica, California on July 24 and in Beverly Hills on May 26. She tested below the .05 grams necessary to be charged with a felony drug crime both times. She entered rehab after both arrests.

OUI in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, OUI-operating under the influence-is the charge given to someone who has been operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A person can be charged for OUI if prosecutors can prove that the defendant’s ability to operate a car was impaired by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Field sobriety test results and whether a motor vehicle accident occurred are some of the factors that are taken into consideration. The suspect can also be charged with OUI under the “per se” theory, which factors in the blood alcohol test (a result of .08% or more) and the arresting officers’ observations.

The penalties for OUI convictions in Massachusetts:

• 1st Conviction: 2 ½ years maximum jail sentence, license suspension for 1 year, and an up to $5,000 maximum fine • 2nd Conviction: 2 ½ years maximum jail sentence, license suspension for 2 years, and an up to $10,000 maximum fine • 3rd Conviction: 5 years maximum jail sentence, license suspension for 8 years, and an up to $15,000 maximum fine • 4th Conviction: 5 years maximum jail sentence, license suspension for 10 years, and an up to $25,000 maximum fine • 5th Conviction: 5 years maximum jail sentence, license permanently revoked, and an up to $50,000 maximum fine
Pleading guilty to or being convicted of an OUI charge will stay permanently on your record in Massachusetts.

Lindsay Lohan to serve 1 day in jail in plea bargain, CNN.com, August 24, 2007
Lindsay Lohan Gets Jail in DUI Cases, People.com, August 23, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Read the Complaint from Lindsay Lohan’s May 26 Arrest

Massachusetts OUI Basics, Massachusetts DMV.org Continue reading

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Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick has struck a deal with federal prosecutors that had him pleading guilty to dogfighting charges.

On Monday, Vick pled guilty to felony charges of conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture and conspiring to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities.

He faces a minimum of one year in prison. The charges from his indictment come with a $250,000 fine and a maximum of five years in prison–although a plea agreement likely means that he will not receive the maximum sentence.

The NFL (National Football League) will also announce its own punishment for the football star. It has already barred Vick from attending the Falcons’ training camp. He will likely receive his sentencing at the end of November.

Three co-defendants have pled guilty also. They say that Vick “almost exclusively funded” the dogfighting/gambling venture. Quanis L. Phillips, one of the co-defendants, said that last April, he, Vick, and Purnell A. Peace (another co-defendant) killed eight dogs by drowning them or hanging them because they were not performing well during the fights.

Vick’s involvement in underground dogfighting has led to problems with some of his endorsement deals. Reebok stopped selling jerseys with his No. 7 on them, and Nike suspended an endorsement deal it had signed with Vick. At least two trading card companies are no longer making his card.

Last April, government officials raided a property in Surry County, Virginia that belonged to Vick. They found carpeting that was soaked in blood, modified treadmills that are used for canines, and 52 pit bulls. Vick, Tony Taylor, Quanis Phillips, and Purnell Peace were indicted on July 17.

Federal Crimes
Federal crimes are crimes that have been declared crimes by the U.S. Congress and not just by state bodies. Federal agencies are the ones involved in investigating a federal crime.

According to the Humane Society, dogfighting is against the law in every state and considered a felony crime in 48 of the states. Taking dogs across state lines so that they can participate in dogfighting is considered a federal crime.

Last month, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry introduced a bill to eliminate dogfighting in the United States. His bill would amend the Animal Welfare Act and upgrade existing federal dogfighting laws by:

• Removing the requirement that agents and prosecutors have to show that a dog crossed state lines to participate in a fight • Making it a federal crime to attend a dogfight as a spectator • Making it illegal to transport, sell, own, or train fighting dogs • Enhancing the penalty from three years to five years in prison
Falcons’ Vick Indicted In Dogfighting Case, Washington Post, August 18, 2007
Vick pleads guilty to dog-fighting charges, The Guardian Unlimited, August 21, 2007
Dogfighting Fact Sheet, The Humane Society
Kerry Bill Bans Dogfighting, John Kerry.com
Related Web Resources:
Read Senator Kerry’s Bill (PDF)

Vick in a Deal to Plead Guilty to Dogfighting, New York Times, August 21, 2007
Animal Welfare Act and Regulations
Continue reading

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The Barnstable County grand jury is refusing to indict Ann Gryboski, a 51-year-old Cape Cod doctor, in the shooting death of her husband Patrick Lancaster. The jury cited evidence of domestic violence (both psychological and physical) after hearing testimony from 27 witnesses. Prosecutors have decided to drop the case.

Gryboski had been released on bail after she pled not guilty in April to murdering her husband. She showed up in court then with bruises around her mouth and swollen eyes. Her attorney has maintained that she acted in self-defense and to protect her son against her husband.

Gryboski had confessed to police that she killed Lancaster, who was a charter boat owner and builder, at their home on Easter. She says she had tried to intervene during an argument between her husband and one of their sons, who had asked his father about the bruises on her face.

She says that the night before she shot Lancaster, he had punched her repeatedly while she drove a motor vehicle. Their two-year-old grandchild was riding in the back seat.

Gryboski says she fired two shots at him as he approached her on Sunday.

Doctors who examined her after the murder found she was suffering from facial trauma and head trauma, in addition to a mild corneal abrasion and a chipped tooth. They also found that she previously had a nasal injury.

Justifiable Homicide:

A defendant is not considered guilty of murder/attempted murder/manslaughter/attempted voluntary manslaughter if he or she had justifiable cause to kill or try to kill someone as an act of self-defense or to defend someone else. A murder can also be considered justifiable homicide if it was done to prevent another serious crime from being committed or as part of one’s duty as a soldier or police officer.

Just because you have been charged with a crime does not mean you will be found guilty. A good criminal defense lawyer can build a solid defense for you and ensure that you are not unfairly convicted for a crime.

Prisonactivtist.org offers a number of facts about women as victims of domestic violence, including:

* Each day in the U.S., between 5 and 11 women are killed by a male intimate partner, between 1800 and 4000 per year.

* In the U.S. women are more likely to be killed by their male intimate partners than all other homicide categories combined.

* 90% of women murdered are killed by men, men who are most often a family member, spouse or ex-partner.

*Studies show that the vast majority of women who kill their abusers do so as a last resort in defense of their own lives and/or the lives of their children, and that many have stayed with abusive partners because they have been beaten trying to escape or because they rightly feared an attempt at escape would cause their partner to retaliate with violence.

*Between 2.1 and 8 million women are abused by their partners annually in the U.S. At least every 15 seconds, a woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend.

*The Surgeon General has reported for at least 10 years that battering is the single largest cause of injury to U.S. women.

Grand jury declines to indict Cape Cod doctor in husband’s death, Boston.com/AP, August 17, 2007
Justifiable Homicide: Self-Defense or Defense of Another, Justia.com
Self-Defense is Not a Crime, Prisonactivist.org
Related Web Resource:

Dr. Ann Gryboski Arrives at District Court, Hyannisnews.com, April 9, 2007 Continue reading

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