Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday night a woman was leaving a Route 1 restaurant in Danvers, Massachusetts. She had just finished having dinner with a friend and went to get her car parked at the rear of Friday's Restaurant. She was approached by a man who dragged her into the woods next the Route 1 Costco's store where she was raped and sexually assaulted. The victim was taken to a local hospital around 3:30 a.m. for treatment. The assailant fled the crime scene to the area of Route 114 near Peabody, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Woman Dragged From Car, Raped

According to the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Reports rapes in Massachusetts have risen from approximately 250 in 1960 to over 1,600 in 2007. Between 1990 and 1993 reported rape cases in Massachusetts peaked at around 2,000 per year. On a national level, the crime of rape in Massachusetts has declined over the past three years. In 2005 Massachusetts ranked 37th nationally, 38th in 2006 and 39th in 2007.

In Massachusetts rape in punishable by life in prison. If a firearm is used during the commission of the rape there is a minimum mandatory ten year state prison sentence.

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Police have reported that Paul Mwaura, 27 of Brockton, Massachusetts is now charged with indecent assault and battery in the Quincy District Court. It is alleged that Mwaura groped two women at the Crane Library in Quincy. One woman told authorities that the defendant asked her to engage in sex for a fee in a library bathroom. When she declined he grabbed her after which she fled. The second woman reported that Mwaura was leaving the library while she was entering at which time he groped her and left the building.

2 Women Sexually Assaulted At Massachusetts Library

Indecent assault and battery is a sex crime and a felony in Massachusetts. It is punishable by up to five years in state prison. The statute prohibiting this act is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13H. To prove someone guilty of this crime the district attorney must prove beyond a reasonable doubt 1) that victim was at least fourteen years of age at the time of the alleged offense; 2) that the defendant committed an assault and battery on the alleged victim. Assault and battery is essentially the intentional touching of another person, without legal justification or excuse; 3) the assault and battery was "indecent" as that word is commonly understood, measured by common understanding and practices. An indecent act is one that is fundamentally offensive to contemporary standards of decency. An assault and battery is "indecent" if it involves touching portions of the anatomy commonly thought private, such as a person's genital area or buttocks, or the breasts of a female; 4) that the alleged victim did not consent.

Continue reading "Brockton Massachusetts Man Charged With Sexual Assaults At Quincy Library" »

In 2004 around 6:00 p.m. Malden, Massachusetts police responded to a call for a woman bleeding. Officers arrived to find the victim in her bed and suffering from facial injuries. It was clear to police that the home had been broken into through a rear door. The man who broke in assaulted and beat the elderly victim who was taken to the hospital. This past Saturday, as a result of a DNA match, Jason Kuzcynski was arrested and charged with home invasion and assault and battery on a person over the age of sixty five. Kuzcynski is being held without bail pending a hearing on dangerousness.

Massachusetts Man Charged With 2004 Home Invasion

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 18C defines the crime of home invasion in Massachusetts. The law states that anyone who is armed and enters the home of another person knowing or having reason to know that someone is home and uses force on that person is guilty of home invasion. There is a minimum state prison sentence of twenty years for anyone convicted of this crime. The crime of assault and battery on a person sixty or older carries a ten year state prison sentence. With an elderly victim it is likely that the district attorney in this case will not agree to a plea bargain that falls below the twenty year mandatory sentence.

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Last Thursday night Haverhill police raided Gerald Boucher's apartment on North Avenue. When the police entered the home Boucher and two other men were engaged in drug deal activities. The police found sixty two grams of cocaine, an ounce and a half or marijuana and a variety of drug paraphernalia. Boucher has been charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, trafficking cocaine, conspiracy and a school zone violation. The search was made pursuant to a search warrant that was issued out of the Haverhill District Court. The two other men, James Sarno and Alexander Frye were charged possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy and a school zone violation.

Massachusetts Man Charged With Various Drug Crimes

Trafficking cocaine in Massachusetts is a crime under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 94C Section 32E. The law states that anyone who possesses cocaine with the intent to distribute that substance, or does in fact distribute the cocaine is guilty of trafficking if the quantity exceeds fourteen grams. The penalty for trafficking over twenty eight grams is five years in state prison. This is a mandatory minimum sentence. The school zone violation adds another two years, mandatory to the sentence. So if Boucher is convicted he will have to serve seven years in state prison.

The fact that the drugs were found during a search made pursuant to a warrant always implicates Fourth Amendment issues. Typically motions to suppress the search are filed. If these are successful then the drugs are excluded as evidence and, in most instances the case gets dismissed. These cases also raise many interesting defenses. Absent any admissions by the defendants the question that arises is "whose drugs were these?". There is often the contention that someone is buying the drugs for personal use and another person is selling the substances. Good Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers many times get great results on cases such as this one.

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Seventeen year old Bridgewater, Massachusetts resident Trevor McGarry was at his home the other day when another teenager with whom he had been in conflict went to his house to "fight with him". According to reports the victim went to McGarry's house after an earlier altercation with the specific purpose of fighting McGarry. In the course of the fight McGarry ended up stabbing the other individual in the back with a folding knife. The victim removed the knife from his back himself and returned to his home. His parents called the police later that evening. McGarry was arrested and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

Massachusetts Teenager Charged With Assault And Battery Dangerous Weapon

Assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in Massachusetts is a crime pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 15A. This crime can be prosecuted in either the district court or the superior court. Given the circumstances of this case I would imagine that the district attorney will prosecute this case in the district court. If that is the case then the maximum sentence that can be imposed is two and one half years in the house of correction.

I would not be surprised if this case is defended on self-defense grounds. In Massachusetts once evidence of self defense is introduced the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. You can defend yourself with a dangerous weapon if you have a reasonable ground to believe, that you are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury from which you can save yourself only by using deadly force. Where as in this case someone goes to your house with the intent to fight you this defense might be viable. Everyone should feel secure in his home.

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Shortly after 2:00 p.m. yesterday a woman walking down a Boston, Massachusetts street was confronted by a man and a woman who asked for a cigarette. The two, later identified as Marie O'Neill and Thomas Slavin then began punching the woman repeatedly. The man then brandished a baseball bat and threatened to hit her with it. While doing so the couple took her pocketbook and fled. The victim chased the assailants and eventually caught up to O'Neill. Slavin took off in a black pick-up truck. A witness captured the license plates with a cell phone camera and police apprehended Slavin shortly thereafter. Inside the pick-up truck the police found the woman's pocketbook, crack cocaine and marijuana. Both have been charged with armed robbery and possession of cocaine and marijuana.

Massachusetts Man And Woman Arrested, Charged With Robbery, Drug Possession

The most serious charge here is armed robbery. This is a felony in Massachusetts. It is punishable by up to life in prison. This crime is prosecuted in the Superior Court. The Massachusetts statute prohibiting armed robbery is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 17. Oftentimes armed robbery cases are reduced to larceny from the person and are prosecuted in the district court. The decision to reduce such charges rests exclusively with the district attorney and depends on the circumstances of the act and the defendant's criminal record.

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Over the weekend Michael Farfard was stopped for speeding in Worcester County Massachusetts. Police then searched through his eighteen pack of Budweiser beer. In it they found over forty seven grams of cocaine. The charges: trafficking cocaine, OUI, 2nd offense, OUI drugs, using a motor vehicle during the commission of a felony and numerous motor vehicle crimes.

Massachusetts Man Arraigned On Cocaine Trafficking Charges

The drug trafficking charge is the most serious crime that Farfard must defend. The crime of trafficking over twenty eight grams of cocaine in Massachusetts carries a minimum mandatory five year state prison sentence. If there is a school zone violation involved then another two year mandatory sentence must be imposed. In the more rural Massachusetts counties you typically do see have as many school zone charges. In Suffolk County Massachusetts a large majority of drug cases have school zone violations as a component. This is primarily due to the population density in the county and the fact that there are hundreds of schools throughout the City of Boston and Suffolk County.

From this article it appears that the strength of the district attorney's case will depend on the constitutionality of the search. The prosecution must show probable cause to stop Farfard's vehicle. They must also show that the police had probable cause to search seize items in Farfard's car. Even if they are able to show that the search and seizure was within constitutional limits they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the cocaine was Farfard's and that he intended to distribute the substance.

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Over the weekend and undercover female police officer placed an advertisement on Craigslist offering sex in exchange for cash at a Worcester, Massachusetts hotel. The operation resulted in fifty arrests total, most from Massachusetts. The target of the prostitution sting was people who advertise sex for fee on Craigslist and the people who respond to those ads. The operation was conducted over a three day period at a Worcester hotel. Three such operations have been conducted since the fall. The names of all defendants have been published. The information obtained from the investigation was shared with Boston police.

Massachusetts Residents Arrested When Trying To Get Sex From Craigslist

Engaging in sexual conduct for a fee in Massachusetts is a crime pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 Section 53. The law states that anyone who agrees to engage in sex for a fee or offers to pay for sexual favors shall be punished for up to one year in jail or by a fine of up to five hundred dollars. The sex does not have to occur for a person to be convicted of this offense. Typically people accused of this crime for the first time get their cases continued without a finding. However, it is becoming increasingly more common for law enforcement to publish the names of the offenders. This is designed to deter people from committing this crime.

Continue reading "5 Massachusetts Residents Caught In Prostitution Sting Using Craigslist" »

Easton, Massachusetts police detectives had been watching Stephen King for some time. This past Wednesday night their investigation culminated in his arrest. According to reports law enforcement agencies had information that King had been involved in cocaine trafficking in Bristol County. This information was sufficient for them to obtain search warrants for King's home at an Easton Mobile Home Park and for a storage locker that he was renting. An execution of those search warrants uncovered approximately thirty thousand dollars worth of cocaine and nine thousand dollars cash. King was later located at a supermarket parking lot in Sharon. He had in his possession individually packaged bundles of cocaine and over two thousand dollars cash. King was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy and a school zone violation.

Cocaine Trafficking Charges In Store For Easton Man

Man Faces Cocaine Trafficking Charges In Bristol County

A couple of things immediately come to mind when reading these articles. 1) What information did the police have that enabled them to obtain search warrants for King's home and storage locker and 2) what was their probable cause to arrest him in the supermarket parking lot.

Quite often the strength of the district attorney's case for drug crimes lies with the constitutionality of the search warrant. If a search warrant is defective the search becomes invalid and the items seized during the search or going to be suppressed. Many times this leaves the prosecutor without a case against the defendant. Defense attorneys challenge the issuance of search warrants through motions to suppress. Many drug cases are won by the defense through this procedural mechanism. It would be interesting to see exactly what the police put in their affidavits when the applied for the search warrants in this case. If the warrants should not have issued then the drugs will be excluded from this prosecution. Similarly, King's arrest may be found unconstitutional and the drugs found on him might be suppressed as well.

Continue reading "Southeastern Massachusetts Man Charged With Cocaine Trafficking" »

Boston, Massachusetts police officers were just doing their job. They saw occupants of two cars engaged in a verbal dispute. The officers went over to settle the parties down. As they did one of four people riding in a Honda pulled out a firearm and shot at the officers. One officer fired back hitting the car. Other officer went into the car to apprehend the suspect. That man, John Mentor, now stands charged with assault with intent to murder. The defendant's lawyer claimed that the officers fired several shots, a claim that has been denied by the Boston Police Department. The case is currently in the West Roxbury District Court pending indictment. Bail has been set at $500,000.

Man Charged With After Trying To Shoot Boston Police Officer

There is virtually no chance that this case will remain in the district court even though both the district court and the superior court have jurisdiction over these charges. Prosecutors view gun cases, particularly those where the weapon is discharged as extremely serious. Shooting at police officers compounds matters for this defendant. I will bet that the district attorney's office will recommend at least a ten year state prison sentence for this defendant. If a judge agrees that that length sentence is warranted the defendant will either have to take the offer or try the case. It appears that defense counsel in this case has suggested that self-defense might be raised. Ballistics evidence at the crime scene and an examination of the police officers' firearms will partially determine the viability of that defense.

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A thirty three year Salem, Massachusetts man was beaten so badly outside of a Gloucester bar that he had to undergo ten hours of surgery. He suffered severe head trauma and has lost hearing in his right ear and he cannot see out of his right eye. The defendants are Jonathan and William Chadwick. Reports claim that this is a hate crime and that the victim is a gay man. Both defendants have been charged with aggravated assault and battery and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. The case is now pending in the Gloucester District Court.

Two Men Charged In Gay Bashing Incident

Aggravated assault and battery is a crime under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13A. As applicably to this case, the law states that anyone who commits an assault and battery causing serious bodily injury is guilty of a felony, punishable by up to five years on prison. The assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The district attorney will have the discretion as to whether these cases are prosecuted in the district court or the superior court. Given the extent of the victim's injuries and the reported motive of the defendants I am quite certain that these cases will be presented to a grand jury and indicted to the superior court. Unless the defendants go to trial and win their cases they will likely serve some state prison time.

Continue reading "Two Massachusetts Men Arrested, Charged With Committing Hate Crimes" »

Clayton Dawson had an argument with another University of Massachusetts Lowell student. The argument escalated. According to witnesses, Dawson then tried to kill his fellow student by running him over with his car. He then tried to choke him. The victim ended up at a local hospital, was treated and released. Dawson has been charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, aggravated assaulted and battery and attempted murder. The case is pending in the Lowell District Court.

See Article: College Student Charged With Attempted Murder After Trying To Run Another Student Over With His Car

Attempted murder is a crime pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 16. The law states that anyone who tries to murder someone else and is convicted can be sentenced for up to twenty years in state prison. The law requires the district attorney to prove that the defendant committed the act by poisoning, drowning or strangling, or by any means not constituting assault with the intent to murder. Here, it appears that the prosecution contends that when Dawson was choking his victim he intended to kill him by strangulation. This is extremely difficult to prove. My guess is that this case will be kept in the district court. If Dawson does not have a criminal record his lawyer might be able to get this case continued without a finding.

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Last year a thirty two year old woman was sexually assaulted three times by the same man. On one occasion the man grabbed her while she was walking in Wollaston. On two occasions the man rubbed up against her in an inappropriate and lewd manner while riding on an MBTA train. Just yesterday the woman saw the man at a T station in Quincy, Massachusetts. She immediately contacted the police who arrested the man, later identified as twenty five year old Jose Valasquez of East Boston. Valasquez has been charged with criminal harassment and indecent assault and battery in the Quincy District Court.

Read Article: Woman identifies man who sexually assaulted her one year ago

Indecent assault and battery is a felony in Massachusetts. The law defining this offense is Massachusetts General Law Chapter 265 Section 13H. The law states that anyone found guilty of this offense faces a potential five year state prison sentence. To prove this crime the district attorney must show that the defendant engaged in conduct fundamentally offensive to contemporary moral values. The article makes no to the acts that Valasquez purportedly committed.

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Remember Joseph Houston? He is the former Brewster, Massachusetts police officer who got kicked out of a Metallica concert for peeing on concertgoers and then tried to get back in the concert by flashing his badge. His case is now over and it worked out great for him. He can thank a great criminal defense lawyer, a compassionate district attorney and a judge who simply "gets it". According to reports, Houston will have to pay restitution in the amount of $2,632 to his victims and undergo alcohol counseling. If he does so and stays out of trouble for the next eighteen months his charges of assault and battery, trespassing and open and gross lewdness will be dismissed. The disposition or resolution of the case was accomplished by continuing the case without a finding.

Read Article: Charges Against Cop Who Urinated On Concert Fans To Be Dismissed

So what exactly is a continuance without a finding? In Massachusetts cases are often resolved in a manner whereby the defendant will have to adhere to certain conditions of probation however once he successfully completes those obligations the case will be dismissed on a designated date. In essence, the defendant is punished for the crime but he will not have a criminal record to show for it. The statute governing this rule is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 278 Section 18. For years it was believed that this statute applied only to cases prosecuted in the District Courts. As recently as March of 2009 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided that continuances without a finding (CWOF's) could be entered by judges in the Superior Court.

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David Dunbar is a level three sex offender according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. He was convicted in 2000 of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen. He has recently been living in a homeless shelter in Quincy. Just the other day however Dunbar removed the screen on a woman's apartment entered the apartment and purportedly committed some additional serious crimes. He is now facing charges in the Quincy District Court for assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction to property and home invasion. He is being held on $350,000 bail.

Read Article, Boston Herald, April 7, 2009

The home invasion charge is the most serious crime that Dunbar is accused of committing. It is a violent crime proscribed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 18C. To be convicted of this crime the district attorney must prove that the defendant broke into someone's home, knowing or having reason to know that they were home, while armed with a dangerous weapon and having used force or threats on the home's occupant. A conviction of home invasion carries a twenty year minimum state prison sentence. The article stated that Dunbar was carrying a box cutter when he entered the home. That is sufficient to satisfy the element of "dangerous weapon".

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Coop's Bar and Grill in Quincy, Massachusetts was the wrong place for a twenty five year old Weymouth woman to spend her Saturday night. Around 11:45 p.m. as the victim was leaving the bar a group of teenagers began yelling obscenities at her. The woman confronted group. She was then assaulted, beaten and her pocketbook was taken from her. She ended up in Massachusetts General Hospital with "serious facial injuries". The woman was eventually able to identify two of three assailants, Erin Buckley and Leah Coyne, both of Weymouth. Another suspect was observed with Coyne going through a pocketbook behind a home. Both Buckley and Coyne were charged with robbery and aggravated assault and battery. The third person, Shane Ferguson was charged with being a accessory after the fact.

Read Article: Robbery Charges For Girls Who Attacked Woman In Quincy

If these charges are prosecuted as currently issued the case will be indicted to the Norfolk County Superior Court. The most serious charge Buckley and Coyne face is the robbery charge. In Massachusetts robbery is a life felony whether committed by someone armed or unarmed. The aggravated assault and battery is also a felony and carries up to five years in state prison. If the injuries are not as severe as reported and Buckley and Coyne do not have criminal records I would not be surprised to see these cases remain in the Quincy District Court where the maximum the defendants face is two and one half years in the house of correction.

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According to reports, this past Sunday Margaret Greer was in her car at Boston's Logan Airport when a state trooper asked her to move her vehicle. Greer explained to the trooper that she was waiting for her husband. She was given the option of circling the terminal or parking in a nearby cell phone lot. She chose neither and supposedly struck the officer with her mirror when trying to drive past him. Following that Greer tried to again hit the officer with her car while he was trying to undue her seatbelt to possibly apprehend her. Greer fled and was arrested on the Massachusetts Turnpike shortly afterwards. Now apparently someone working on Greer's behalf is using Craigslist to find witnesses who saw the incident and are able to corroborate Greer's version of the events. The message was posted just hours after Greer's release from custody.

Greer has been charged in the East Boston District Court with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and failure to stop for a police officer.

Read Articles: Wellesley Woman Accused Of Striking Trooper With SUV; Portfolio Manager Charged With Crimes Of Violence; Merrill Lynch Executive Using Craigslist To Find Witnesses

So what is the most serious charge here? The assault and battery by with a dangerous weapon. This is a crime under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 15A. Under this case scenario a motor vehicle can constitute a dangerous weapon. A conviction for this crime can result in a state prison sentence of up to ten years if the case is indicted. If this case is kept in the District Court the maximum penalty is two and one half years in the house of correction. My guess is that this case will be continued without a finding and Greer might have to undergo some sort of counseling for anger.

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In a unanimous decision five justices on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed an Appeals Court decision pertaining to probation violaton/revocation matters. See Commonwealth v. Ruiz, Slip Opinion March 31, 2009. In Ruiz the Court found the following facts:

Stemming from two incidents of domestic violence Ruiz pleaded guilty to seven separate crimes in the Superior Court. One count required that Ruiz serve five to five and one half years in state prison. On the remaining cases Ruiz was sentenced to probation to commence from and after (consecutive) the period of incarceration. The probationary period was for three years with one of the conditions being that Ruiz not contact the victim either directly or indirectly. The sentence imposed was at the request of both the district attorney and the defense. During the period of incarceration Ruiz wrote letters to the victim. A probation surrender hearing was scheduled. The judge found that Ruiz had violated the terms of his probation by contacting the victim through the letters. He imposed and additional sentence of one year to one year. Ruiz appealed from the ruling. The Appeals Court affirmed and the Supreme Judicial Court accepted review of the case and reversed.

Typically probation commences once the defendant is released from incarceration. A defendant can be sentenced to probation concurrent with his committed sentence. However a sentence imposing both incarceration and probation concurrent with the incarceration is not common. Such a sentence might be imposed where there is a concern that the defendant will cause trouble during the period of incarceration. This case makes clear however that any condition of probation imposed concurrently with a committed sentence must be clear on the record and the defendant must have notice of that condition.

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