Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

June 16, 2011

Dorchester Domestic Violence Call Turns To Multiple Shooting And Arrest

Do you still wonder why Massachusetts law enforcement come in with a strong need to maintain control of a situation when dealing with a Boston domestic violence call? Maybe today’s blog will convince you.

Meet Boston police officer Shawn Marando, hereinafter, the “Officer”, 13-year veteran and an officer who teaches women how to defend themselves . Earlier this week, he was about to finish his overnight shift when a call came in from a Dorchester woman who said that her boyfriend had assaulted and threatened to kill her. The Officer went to answer the call.

Minutes later, the Officer, and two other officers, arrived at the scene to find said boyfriend, 25-year-old Tyrone Cummings (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and a the caller’s sister. According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant reacted by firing a gun at the Officer, striking him in the calf.

So much for retaining control of the situation.

The Officer and another officer fired back, hitting the Defendant several times in the chest. The sister was hit in the leg.

Believe it or not, all were expected to survive.

“As this incident demonstrates, there is no such thing as a routine call,” Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said. “It’s clearly our worst-case scenario.”

This marks the third time since November that a Massachusetts officer has been shot in the line of duty.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts Shootings, Domestic Violence And Police Response

So…did the police over-react by firing back so much? After all, the Defendant was hit a number of times in the chest, which one would have expected to kill him. Not only that, but the sister, assumedly an innocent bystander, was also hit.
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June 14, 2011

Brockton Man Held Without Bail For Accidently Shooting And Killing Innocent Churchgoer

by Samuel Goldberg

It is the fifth Brockton homicide this year so far.

19-year-old Brockton resident Frank J. Webb (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is learning that “accidents happen” is not a defense in murder cases.

Particularly when said alleged accident takes place while one is breaking the law anyway. When Massachusetts weapons are involved, the Commonwealth is particularly unforgiving.

The Defendant is said to have gotten into a fight with another individual in Brockton this weekend. During said altercation, he is believed to have fired a handgun wildly in the middle of Main Street. The Commonwealth says that, while doing so, he fatally wounded a 51-year-old woman who was walking home from church.

He has been charged with the charges of murder and Massachusetts’ assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police allegedly recovered a .45-caliber handgun at the scene.

During the Brockton bail hearing, the Defendant’s attorney argued that his client had been living with his parents, working for a cutlery business, and studying at Massasoit Community College to get his GED. He also represented that his client had no convictions on his record. The prosecutor, however, pointed out that the Defendant had two open drug cases in the district court.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Murder And Bail Conditions

“Sam, yesterday you wrote about how bad it is for a lawyer to seem fake and that his/her credibility is important. I guess this lawyer has already blown his, right?”
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June 13, 2011

A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Analyzes Massachusetts Evidence And Juries

by Samuel Goldberg

Today, Boston’s federal court has a jury that has begun deliberations. It is the jury which has been sitting through the Sal DiMasi corruption trial. They will review the evidence. They will review the law.

Many of the factual issues are in dispute between the various defense attorneys and the Assistant United States Attorney. They have all suggested points of view as to these disputes. Is what the attorneys have presented to the jury simply spin?

Maybe. Or maybe the arguments were the most important part of the deliberations, although they contained neither judicial instructions or evidence in and of themselves.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Analysis Of Evidence Perception(Part 2 Of 2)

Way back when, when I was a Brooklyn prosecutor, I found myself frustrated by the courtroom setting. This was particularly true when trying felony drug cases.
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June 9, 2011

Sal DiMasi Corruption Trial In Boston Federal Court Is Close To Going To Jury

by Samuel Goldberg

We have been talking about juries and their deliberations. Sal DiMasi will be sitting in the hot seat as a Boston federal jury determines his fate next week. As you may have heard, the judge has handed down to the attorneys a draft of the jury instructions he intends to give when he charges the jury. It is the last chance for the attorneys to influence what the jury hears during the trial. Once they deliver their closing arguments, the judge charges the jury and it is all in the juror’s hands.

It is an uncomfortable place for a trial lawyer to be. Believe me, I have been there countless times. There is nothing more you can do…but wait, relive how things went and, most of all, guess what is on the jury’s collective mind.

What images did they take into the jury room? How much did they understand the law as the judge gave it. How much do you want them to have understood that law? Most of all, what perception of reality did the jury take back to that jury room with them?

And the last chance for the white collar crime attorneys to influence that sense of reality is the next 24 hours. The presiding judge, the Honorable Judge Wolf, has handed down potential jury instructions and has indicated that he will wait until the attorneys give their closing arguments (tomorrow) to finalize the instructions.

And then…the choice is the jury’s. The court has indicated that, “I’m going to instruct the jury that they have to consider each defendant, and they can choose to convict one of them, two of them, none of them, or all three.”

That much is clear. However, other issues with regard to the instructions are not so clear. For example, the defense lawyers want the court to tell the jurors that in order to convict DiMasi, they must find that he hatched a kickback scheme and directed payments to be made to associates in exchange for his help – a threshold that they say prosecutors have failed to prove.

Prosecutors, however, say they need to prove only that DiMasi was a willing and knowing participant in what they allege was a conspiracy to help a Burlington software company win state contracts in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.

And so, while finalizing closing arguments, the fight for instructions has been on. The court heard argument from all sides today. While potential instructions have been handed down, nobody will know what the court will actually tell the jurors until he actually gives the charge.

And so, as the trial nears its end, the pressure is on the lawyers to find the right words in this final attempt to give the jury the most important thing which will effect the outcome of the trial.
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June 8, 2011

Roxbury Man Faces Jury Again In Boston Murder Trial

by Samuel Goldberg

The scene is Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a Boston murder trial.

Shawn “Shanks” Daughtry of Roxbury is the 32-year-old gentleman hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”. He is accused of shooting two people on September 20, 2007. One of them died. The other was the deceased’s mother.

Today, said mother, Sandra Duncan, is on the witness stand, weeping. She tells the jury of her 29-year-old son’s final words to her as he lay dying on the front porch of their home.

“He said, ‘Ma, who did this to me?’ ” she tells the jury. “He said it three times.”

This is not the first jury before whom she has testified. This is a re-trial. The Defendant is being re-tried for the first-degree murder of Urel Duncan. In the first trial, last May, the jury was deadlocked; it could not unanimously find the Defendant guilty or not guilty.

According to the Commonwealth, the Roxbury shooting was motivated by a feud with people associated with the Academy Homes housing development. In fact, the shooting took place outside the Duncan home in the development.

As it turns out, however, neither Urel nor his mother were involved with gangs. She says that she was in her bedroom when she heard what sounded like firecrackers.

“I saw my daughter crawling on her knees and saying, ‘Ma, (Urel) got shot,’ ” she said. “I see Urel lying back on the steps … blood coming out of his head.”

Urel died the next day.
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June 7, 2011

A Boston Former Police Officer Serves Time In Federal White Collar Case

by Samuel Goldberg

Hey, anybody out there remember Boston’s own Eliezer Gonzalez?

Mr. Gonzalez, formerly a Boston police officer and hereinafter the “Defendant” has brought to a close his federal criminal case. His case involved white collar crime.

The Defendant was accused of faking injuries and fraudulently collecting injury leave pay. According to federal prosecutors, the defendant had collected about $173,000 in injury leave pay and had filed for accidental disability retirement after supposedly suffering on-the-job injuries in 2007.

Unfortunately for the Defendant, he was seen going to the L Street Bathhouse, salsa dancing, and traveling abroad without difficulty during said leave.

And so it was that the Defendant found him charged with fraud. Yesterday, he received a year and three months in federal prison after pleading guilty to 34 counts of mail fraud.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts White Collar Crime And Mail Fraud

White collar crimes are crimes which involve unlawful, nonviolent conduct committed by business and government professionals. These crimes involve fraud, theft or other violations of trust committed in the course of one’s employment. These crimes can also be brought on behalf of various agencies in which subscribers or others in a contractual relationship commit such fraudulent acts.
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June 6, 2011

A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Looks At Carson Beach, Police And Criminal Trials (Part 2 of 2)

by Samuel Goldberg

Last week, we discussed the recent melee that occurred at Boston’s Carson Beach.

What really transpired depends on who you ask.

If you ask the Massachusetts State Police, you will hear tales of Boston gang-related violence. You might imagine you would hear of Massachusetts weapons like guns, knives or, at least, pepper spray being used. Of course, in the aftermath, you would, however, hear the only weaponry at the location were the batons used by law enforcement.

On the other hand, the local Boston police will tell you of, at worst, multiple plain ol’ Boston assaults taking place. Simply, a bunch of fights coincidently taking place at the same time and place…until the state police came in, that is, and really shook up the place.

The donnybrook is said to have marred an otherwise perfect day for beachgoers, many of whom soldiered on with their own more civil holiday weekend festivities.

Boston EMS supervisor on scene said no injuries were reported.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Police Confusion And Trial Strategy

We have often discussed that it is a mistake to engage police officers when they come to question you. Trying to out-reason, out-shout, out-run or out-fight is a bad idea; it will only make matters worse…for you.

There are many reasons why police need to retain absolute control over a potential crime scene.
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June 3, 2011

Boston’s Carson Beach Causes Confusion Among Law Enforcement Agencies (Part 1 of 2)

by Samuel Goldberg

It is not every day that we see law enforcement respond to a melee with yey more confusion. It would appear, however, that this is what happened at the recent Carson Beach South Boston assault and battery happenings this past weekend.

in fact., while the state police opine that the violence was caused by rival street gangs, it may be that the only rivalry involved is between police organizations.

The State Police have described tthat heir response to Carson Beach, which is located only minutes from their South Boston barracks, was caused because of the report of a fight between two rival gangs. Now, the Boston Police question whether rival gangs were involved at all.

Meanwhile, no dangerous weapons were confiscated over the weekend and there were no serious injuries reported during the flare-ups, which also occurred in the area around Savin Hill, Malibu Beach, and Pleasure Bay.

Not usually the case with gang violence.
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June 1, 2011

Boston Professional Woman Needs Experienced Boston Drunk Driving Attorney

by Samuel Goldberg

Cara Della Barba is a 28-year-old finance manager at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. If you look at the photo of her in court, you would think she was one of the Boston criminal attorneys. You would not suspect that she is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”. But she is.

According to the Commonwealth, as described at her Dorchester District Court arraignment, she was wobbly, glassy-eyed and reeking of booze when she drove the wrong-way and drove into a state police cruiser Saturday. The prosecutor explained that the Defendant’s relationship with the truth at the time was somewhat periodic.

At first, after the accident, the trooper came to her car and told her that she had just smashed into a police car. Her alleged response? She claimed that she had not hit anything. Then, when questioned about alcohol use, she is said to have told the troopers that she had had “a lot to drink” at a friend’s party. She is said to have then begged them to simply take her home.

Apparently, they found another option. They drove her to their (police) house.

At the barracks, Defendant is accused of trying to sabotage her blood-alcohol test by halfheartedly blowing into a Breathalyzer. The troopers marked said attempt down as a “refusal” to take the test, thereby triggering an automatic loss of driver’s license.
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May 31, 2011

Boston Student Needs Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney After Bringing Marijuana And Gun To School

by Samuel Goldberg

An East Boston High student may be wondering whether honesty is truly the best policy.

The Roxbury resident is a 17-year-old young man whom we will refer to hereinafter as the “Defendant”. He came into contact with law enforcement last Thursday when he entered his school at about 12:30 p.m. through an “unauthorized” door. As he did so, the officers say they “detected the odor of marijuana”.

The officers patted him down. According to the Commonwealth, however, they needn’t have bothered. The lad is said to have confided in the officers that, “I just have a little gun”.

Well, it was cute when then First Lady Nancy Reagan said it so long ago…!

The officers say that the cooperative Defendant also told them where to find the little gun (in his bag) and to be careful because “there’s one in the pipe”. The palm-sized Saturday Night Special was found and indeed had six bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber. They also found more marijuana on the Defendant.
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