by

One thing about prostitution-related prosecutions. It doesn’t matter what state it is in (except Las Vegas I guess). Law enforcement loves to celebrate its “genius” and “hard work” after success from a “sting” on the matter.

Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Cherry Hill Police Chief William Monaghan announced on its website the fact that 30-year-old Javann Hall (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) of Massachusetts pleaded guilty in his Cherry Hill human trafficking case.

We began this discussion on Friday. As you will recall, the Defendant faces a recommended sentence of seven years in state to one count of second-degree human trafficking.

Law Enforcement says it discovered the Defendant’s crimes during an undercover prostitution detail at a hotel last year. 2015. His criminal acts include dropping the unnamed woman at the hotel. She had solicited what turned out to be an undercover officer after she had been advertised online.
Continue reading

by

One thing we have not spent a great deal of time on in this blog is the question of jurisdiction. In other words, what determines where criminal charges are brought?

While, like most things in the justice system, there are exceptions, the general rule is where the crime allegedly took place. In other words, if Rhode Island Ricky is alleged to have shot and killed New Jersey Nicky in Massachusetts, then it would be up to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to prosecute the murder.

That is, assuming the case was to be handled in state court.

It is, therefore, not unusual that someone from one state is prosecuted in another state no matter where he or she lives.

In the case we discuss today, the defendant-at-issue, 30-year-old Javann Hall (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is from Massachusetts. However, on Monday, he pleaded guilty in a case of human trafficking in New Jersey.

According to the Boston Herald,
prosecutors say that the Defendant faces a possible seven-year prison term when he is sentenced on April 1st.
Continue reading

by

Take family dynamics, guns, drugs and a bail hearing and you never know what you will come out with.

Well, actually, folks at Dorchester municipal court last Monday found out.

Pedro Valdez, 33, and Lasonia Gathers, 27, (collectively the “Defendants”) were arrested over last weekend on felony drug and weapons charges after a search of a Dorchester home uncovered measuring scales, multiple plastic bags containing heroin and cocaine, and a loaded semi-automatic handgun inside a child’s bassinet, according to police.

For those who may not know, there are strict rules for safely keeping firearms. A child’s bassinet does not qualify as a safe place.

For an number of obvious reasons, many of which are probably self evident.
Continue reading

by

An East Boston teen has died of injuries suffered after she was struck by a car crossing a Randolph street the night before, according to authorities. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office has identified the deceased child as 15-year-old Laura Viera of East Boston.

The girl was transported to Milton Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday morning.

According to law-enforcement, she was struck on Tuesday night while crossing North Main Street in Randolph. The driver of the vehicle, which was a 2000 Chrysler, did not flee the scene but remained there to speak with police and cooperate with them.

Authorities are still investigating the accident and are considering whether or not the weather was a factor in the incident. It had begun snowing at the time of the crash.
Continue reading

by

A little cold today given that we continue to go from Spring to Winter within hours? The snowfall making you chilly? Want to warm up?

Well, here is way not to do that. It seems that our criminal justice heroes, in the face of gangs, heroin deaths and traffic fatalities, have returned to fighting the most vicious of crimes.

We are talking about the nonsensical battle against the oldest profession…prostitution.

No, not human trafficking or rape….voluntary sex for a fee. The solicitation of it.
Continue reading

by

At the end of last week, the United States Attorney’s office issued a press release. The posting of it, as we have discussed in the past, as recently as last week, is apparently deemed necessary in LawenforcementLand to let us know that they are doing their job and arresting people.

Whether those people turn out to be guilty, of course, is another issue. In the meantime, of course, they will be presumed innocent…and assumed guilty.

To be fair, though, the federal prosecutor’s office generally gets the convictions that they are after.

As I recall, this was released around the same time I was getting posts on my IPhone that they were trying to find some gang member who apparently had escaped from federal custody. Yes, that would be the same office.

But I digress.

According to the release, two gentlemen from Cambridge were among 56 alleged “MS-13” gang members, leaders and associates who were taken into custody by law enforcement Friday morning.
Erick Argueta Larios, aka “Lobo,” 31, and Herzzon Sandoval, aka “Casper,” 34, both of Cambridge, had been indicted on federal racketeering conspiracy charges.
Continue reading

by

Yesterday, we discussed the recent shooting/stabbing case which unfolded in Brookline this week.

“Yes, you were kind of mean to the nice Police Chief about his statements and the arrests.”

Do you think so?

“Yes and you left off suggesting that the way the police handled this matter put me in some kind of danger”.

So I did. I tend to find that when the authorities decide to make “urgent” and rushed arrests…before even thinking the whole matter through… the general population is put at risk.

“How so?”

In a number of ways. For example, one thing I often find when law enforcement rushes through to make arrests is that they increase the risks of getting it wrong. This is a reality to which, when mentioned, officers generally scoff. You will notice that they also seldom reconsider and admit that they might have been wrong.

Not solving a violent case correctly, as opposed to “expediently” puts us all in danger as the true culprits are often left unprosecuted. This should be apparent on its face. The flip side of this danger is something fewer people end up having to worry about.

This would be the folks who end up facing charges for things like home invasion, assault and attempted murder who shouldn’t be.

Continue reading

by

It is a Boston violent story that is continuing to unfold. The ongoing criminal investigation apparently continues although law enforcement is already pointing fingers.

Wednesday, three men were wounded in shootings and stabbings in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner. Brookline police say that the violence was related to a home invasion.

Brookline Police Chief Daniel C. O’Leary explained that the incident began around 11:50 a.m. Wednesday when officers responded to a report a disturbance on St. Paul Street. When officers arrived, they say they found signs of a struggle in the stairs and hallway leading up to an apartment. One man, who was found with several gunshot wounds to the leg as well as a stab wound, was found and taken out of the apartment.
Continue reading

by

You may have been expecting to see this kind of story during our current presidential race theatrics. Sometimes, though, national political temperament is reflected by local political temperament.

I am referring to a new Massachusetts assault case pending in Holyoke. It is a case now scheduled for a trail for April 4th.

The former mayor of Chicopee, Michael Bissonnette (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is charged with attacking Police Lt. John Pronovost on September 8th at a city polling location.
Apparently, the dispute started when the officer asked the Defendant, who was seeking re-election, to remove a campaign sticker, believing he was in violation of a law that bars campaigning too close to a voting site.

The men got into a shouting match and insulted each other.

Continue reading

by

You have met with your attorney on your drug case. It is your fifth time in court on this case. Your lawyer tells you that the next date is for trial. She explains that she may be able to talk the court and the prosecutor into giving you probation instead of jail.

“What?”, you say. “No jail? Count me in!”

You figure you are home free.

You are wrong.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Risks Of Probation

Don’t get me wrong…being on probation is better than being in prison. However, there are some things you have to keep in mind because this may not be the gift from Heaven that you assume it is.
Continue reading

Contact Information
Cambridge, MA
Main Office
675 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.206.1920Fax: 617.491.3299Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Boston, MA
1 State St
Suite 2
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617.547.1205Toll Free: 800.481.6199
Needham, MA
250 First Avenue 2nd Floo
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781.675.2329Toll Free: 800.481.6199

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

By publishing this information on this Website, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Altman & Altman LLP
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design